How can I put down my phone: the different roles of personal growth initiative and self-discipline in a parental phubbing environment

As public awareness of the adverse consequences of improper smartphone use continues to grow, scholars and practitioners are increasingly examining ways to promote more rational and reflective smartphone use among individuals. Among the various influencing factors, individual traits and family environments have been identified as significant determinants of reflective smartphone disengagement. However, the specific mechanisms through which these factors exert their influence remain inadequately understood. This study seeks to examine the interplay between personal growth initiative and self-discipline in fostering reflective smartphone disengagement. Additionally, it explores how this relationship varies within the context of parental phubbing. For all constructs, 734 Chinese college students completed validated and standardized self-reported questionnaires. The results suggested that personal growth initiative not only positively predicted reflective smartphone disengagement, but also indirectly through the mediating effect of self-discipline. Moreover, parental phubbing weakened the positive effects of personal growth initiative on reflective smartphone disengagement and self-discipline but enhanced the positive effects of self-discipline on reflective smartphone disengagement. The research findings indicate that while parental phubbing negatively impacts children’s personal growth initiative, fostering self-discipline can still enable them to develop more positive and healthy smartphone usage habits, even in challenging family environments.