دانشگاه اصفهان پژوهش های علوم شناختی و رفتاری 2251-7642 15 1 2025 08 23 The Mediating Role of Self-Control in the Relationship Between Parental Psychological Control and Smartphone Addiction نقش میانجی‌ خودکنترلی در رابطۀ بین کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین و اعتیاد به گوشی‌ هوشمند 103 122 29979 10.22108/cbs.2025.145920.2043 FA عرفان بهرامی دانشجوی دکتری، گروه روان‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی ، دانشگاه لرستان، خرم‌آباد، ایران. عزت‌اله قدم‌پور استاد، گروه روانشناسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسان، دانشگاه لرستان، خرم‌آباد، ایران. مسعود جعفری دانشجوی دکتری، گروه روان‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه لرستان، خرم‌آباد، ایران. Journal Article 2025 07 11 The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-control in the relationship between parental psychological control and smartphone addiction. This research employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all high school students in Khorramabad during the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 400 students were selected through convenience sampling. The data collection instruments included the Parental Psychological Control Scale ,the short form of the Smartphone Addiction Questionnaire , and the Brief Self-Control Scale . Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to summarize the findings, while Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis through SPSS and AMOS software. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between parental psychological control and smartphone addiction (<em>p</em>< 0.01). Additionally, a significant negative relationship was found between self-control and smartphone addiction (<em>p</em>< 0.01). The structural model analysis indicated that self-control significantly mediates the relationship between parental psychological control and smartphone addiction (<em>p</em>< 0.01). Excessive psychological control by parents undermines adolescents’ self-control skills, thereby paving the way for unhealthy dependence on smartphones. Based on this, it can be concluded that in order to take measures to reduce smartphone addiction among teenagers, the focus should be on decreasing parents' psychological control and increasing self-control in adolescents.<br /><strong>Introduction</strong><br />Nowadays, smartphones have become an essential part of our lives, bringing us convenience and enjoyment (Liu et al., 2023). However, a serious issue that has emerged is the phenomenon of smartphone addiction, which may have specific negative impacts on daily life (Billieux et al., 2015). Given the potentially significant adverse effects of smartphone addiction, it is crucial for researchers to examine the underlying psychological mechanisms and antecedents that may put individuals at risk for this addictive behavior. One variable that may influence smartphone addiction is parental psychological control (Li & Liu, 2025; Chen et al., 2025). Parental psychological control hinders the fulfillment of basic psychological needs such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In turn, this increases the likelihood of negative behaviors, such as problematic smartphone use.<br />Ultimately, it can be said that parental psychological control is one of the precursors of smartphone addiction. Therefore, identifying the mediating variables through which parental psychological control affects students’ smartphone use is essential. Self-control is a fundamental component of an individual's personality system and refers to a person's ability to regulate and manage behavior, emotions, cognitive activities, and more, based on social standards or personal will (Cai et al., 2021). In fact, self-control is one of the most important manifestations of adolescent socialization and a key factor in resisting stress, negative emotions, and even high-risk external behavioral problems during adolescence. Research has shown that self-control plays a mediating role between various dimensions of parenting and externalizing behaviors (Muftić & Updegrove, 2018).<br />Studies have also shown that psychological control impedes the development of self-control in adolescents, which in turn can lead to problematic internet and smartphone use (Qian et al., 2022). Based on the above, it can be concluded that parental psychological control may influence students’ smartphone usage by affecting their self-control. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the mediating role of self-control in the relationship between parental psychological control and smartphone addiction.<br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong>Method</strong><br />The present study employed a descriptive-correlational research design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of all high school students (second level of secondary education) in Khorramabad during the 2024–2025 academic year. From this population, a sample of 400 students was selected using convenience sampling. The data collection instruments included the Parental Psychological Control Scale (Soenens et al., 2010), the short form of the Smartphone Addiction Questionnaire (Lin et al., 2017), and the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004). Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data, and Pearson correlation tests as well as structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted using SPSS-26 and AMOS-24 software.<br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong>Results</strong><br />In structural equation modeling, various fit indices are used to evaluate the model. The results of examining some of them have shown that these indices are within the normal range; (X2/df=2.09, GFI=0.95, IFI=0.98, CFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.08) therefore, the conceptual model of this study has a good fit. Table (1) presents the significance of the direct path coefficients in the model, all of which were found to be statistically significant.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /><strong>Table 1.</strong> Coefficients of the direct paths of the model<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />P<br /><br /><br />Sobel test<br /><br /><br />t<br /><br /><br />SE<br /><br /><br />standard coefficients<br /><br /><br />Direct effect<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />0.001<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />6.473<br /><br /><br />0.047<br /><br /><br />0.187<br /><br /><br />Parent's psychological control on smartphone addiction<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />0.001<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />-4.937<br /><br /><br />0.138<br /><br /><br />-0.648<br /><br /><br />Parents' psychological control on self-control<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />0.001<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />-4.268<br /><br /><br />0.106<br /><br /><br />-0.692<br /><br /><br />Self-control on smartphone addiction<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />0.001<br /><br /><br />3.812<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />0.162<br /><br /><br />0.448<br /><br /><br />Parental Psychological Control on Smartphone Addiction Through Self-Control<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />0.001<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />-<br /><br /><br />0.209<br /><br /><br />0.635<br /><br /><br />Total Effect<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Table (1) shows that the direct effect of parental psychological control on smartphone addiction is positive and significant (<em>p</em><0.01), and its direct effect on self-control is negative and significant (<em>p</em><0.01). The direct effect of self-control on smartphone addiction is also negative and significant (<em>p</em><0.01). An examination of the significance of indirect effects revealed that parental psychological control can indirectly and positively influence students' smartphone addiction through self-control in a significant way (<em>p</em><0.01).<br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong>Discussion</strong><br />This study aimed to examine the mediating role of self-control in the relationship between parental psychological control and smartphone addiction. The results showed that the conceptual model had a good fit and that parental psychological control influenced adolescent smartphone addiction both directly and indirectly (through the mediation of self-control). To explain these findings, we can argue that parental psychological control requires children to obey the views and conform to the expectations of adults. Since this approach conflicts with adolescents' psychological need for independent development (Chen et al., 2025), such control can lead to depression, feelings of inadequacy, or intentional defiance of parental demands. To escape these negative emotions, adolescents may turn to excessive smartphone use. Furthermore, parental psychological control may hinder the development of adolescent autonomy, leading to insufficient self-regulation when facing temptation and pressure, which in turn results in reduced self-control (Lin & Li, 2024). In other words, parental psychological control may negatively affect adolescents' self-control through intrusive involvement in their lives. This low self-control then causes adolescents to resort to excessive smartphone use to regulate their emotions or escape unpleasant feelings, leaving them with less ability to resist the temptation to use their phones.<br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong> </strong> پژوهش حاضر با هدف بررسی نقش میانجی خودکنترلی در رابطۀ بین کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین و اعتیاد به گوشی‌های هوشمند انجام شد.<strong> </strong>روش پژوهش حاضر توصیفی-همبستگی از نوع مدل معادلات ساختاری بود. جامعۀ آماری در این پژوهش همۀ دانش‌آموزان دورۀ متوسطۀ دوم شهر خرم‌آباد در سال تحصیلی 1403-1404 بودند که از میان آنها، 400 نفر به ‌صورت نمونه‌گیری در دسترس انتخاب شدند. ابزارهای گردآوری داده‌ها شامل مقیاس کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین فرم کوتاه پرسشنامۀ اعتیاد به گوشی‌های هوشمند و مقیاس کوتاه خودکنترلی بودند. برای توصیف یافته‌ها از میانگین و انحراف معیار و برای تحلیل داده‌ها از آزمون همبستگی پیرسون و مدل‌های معادلات ساختاری با استفاده از نرم‌افزارهای SPSS و AMOS استفاده شد.<strong> </strong>یافته‌ها نشان داد بین کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین و اعتیاد به گوشی‌های هوشمند رابطه‌ای مثبت و معنادار وجود دارد (01/0><em>p</em>). همچنین، بین خودکنترلی و اعتیاد به گوشی‌های هوشمند رابطۀ منفی معناداری وجود دارد (01/0><em>p</em>). نتایج بررسی مدل نشان داد خودکنترلی می‌تواند به طرزی معنادار در رابطۀ بین کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین و اعتیاد به گوشی‌های هوشمند نقش میانجی را ایفا کند (01/0><em>p</em>).<strong> </strong>کنترل بیش از حد روانشناختی والدین از طریق تضعیف توانایی نوجوانان در مهارت‌های خودکنترلی، راه را برای وابستگی ناسالم به گوشی هوشمند هموار می‌کند؛ بنابراین، می‌توان نتیجه گیری کرد که به منظور اتخاذ تدابیری برای کاهش اعتیاد نوجوانان به گوشی‌های هوشمند، باید بر کاهش کنترل روان‌شناختی والدین و افزایش خودکنترلی در نوجوانان تمرکز داشت.<br /><strong> </strong><br />  https://cbs.ui.ac.ir/article_29979_4192ac2c2545c40be365c23c13588828.pdf