Zhao Haoyu, Biferie Michelle Dusko, Xiao Bowen, Shapka Jennifer
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Mar 25;22(4):489. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22040489.
Although many peers socialize online, there is evidence that adolescents who spend too much time online are lonely, depressed, and anxious. This study incorporates habitual smartphone use as a new way of measuring smartphone engagement, based on the shortcomings of simply measuring 'hours spent online'. Drawing on a large 2-year longitudinal study, the current research aims to investigate the association between habitual smartphone use and peer attachment among Canadian adolescents. A whole-school approach combined with a convenience sampling method was used to select our sample. A total of 1303 Canadian high school students (Grades 8-12; mage = 14.51 years, SD = 1.17 years; 50.3% females) who completed both waves of data collection were included in this study. A random intercept latent transition analysis (RI-LTA) was utilized to assess the association between habitual smartphone use (absent-minded subscale of the Smartphone Usage Questionnaire) and transition probabilities among profiles of peer attachment (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment), after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, stress, family attachment, school connectedness, and social goals. Three profiles of peer attachment were identified: (Profile 1: weak communication and some alienation; Profile 2: strong communication, strong trust, and weak alienation; Profile 3: okay communication and high alienation). Results of multivariable RI-LTA indicated that increased habitual smartphone use was significantly associated with a heightened probability of transitioning from Profile 2 at Wave 1 to Profile 1 at Wave 2 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.003-1.46). Findings indicate that adolescents who are more habituated to their phones may become less attached to their peers over time. This offers insights for caregivers to focus on management and discussing smartphone engagement with adolescents to strengthen their attachment with peers.
尽管许多同龄人在网上社交，但有证据表明，花太多时间上网的青少年会感到孤独、抑郁和焦虑。鉴于单纯测量“上网时长”存在缺陷，本研究将习惯性使用智能手机作为衡量对智能手机依赖程度的一种新方式。基于一项为期两年的大型纵向研究，本研究旨在调查加拿大青少年习惯性使用智能手机与同伴依恋之间的关联。我们采用全校参与的方式并结合便利抽样法来选取样本。本研究纳入了1303名完成两期数据收集的加拿大高中生（8至12年级；平均年龄=14.51岁，标准差=1.17岁；50.3%为女生）。在对年龄、性别、种族、压力、家庭依恋、学校归属感和社会目标进行调整后，采用随机截距潜在转变分析（RI-LTA）来评估习惯性使用智能手机（智能手机使用问卷的走神分量表）与同伴依恋类型（父母与同伴依恋量表）之间的转变概率。确定了三种同伴依恋类型：（类型1：沟通薄弱且有些疏离；类型2：沟通良好、信任度高且疏离感弱；类型3：沟通尚可但疏离感强）。多变量RI-LTA结果表明，习惯性使用智能手机的增加与从第一期的类型2转变为第二期的类型1的概率显著增加相关（优势比（OR）=1.21，95%置信区间（CI）1.003 - 1.46）。研究结果表明，随着时间的推移，对手机更习惯的青少年可能与同伴的情感联系会减少。这为照顾者提供了思路，即应关注对青少年智能手机使用的管理，并与他们讨论如何合理使用智能手机，以加强他们与同伴的情感联系。
