THE CORRELATION BETWEEN FAMILY RELATIONSHIP, PARENTING STYLE, AND SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AMONG 7th TO 12th GRADERS

Abstract

This quantitative research aimed to study the correlation between family relationship, parenting style, and smartphone addiction among 7th to 12th graders. Data were collected in 2019 from 419 secondary of students in Nakhonsawan province. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to interpret the correlation. The study discovered that family relationship and parenting style correlated with smartphone addiction among students. The odds ratio for smartphone addiction of students with normal and poor family relationship compared to students with good family relationship was 2.2 times higher (OR = 2.23, P = 0.011). In addition, an indulgent, neglectful or authoritarian parenting style was revealed to have increased the odds ratio of smartphone addiction among students by 1.9 times (OR = 1.89, P = 0.031) when compared with an authoritative parenting style. Similarly, other factors such as sex, the type of activities and the time spent on smartphone, and attitudes toward smartphone use were noted to associate with smartphone addiction among secondary school students at a significance level of 0.05. The result from the research revealed that smartphone addiction proneness can be decreased by encouraging parents toward building good family relationships and an authoritative parenting style.