The Relationship Between Self-disclosure,Loneliness And Mobile Phone Dependence Among High School Students:a Moderated Mediation Analysis

With the increasing popularity of mobile phones among high school students,the problem of mobile phone dependence among teenagers has become more and more significant.High school is a critical period for the development of adolescents,and the negative impact of mobile phone dependence on their physiology and psychology should not be underestimated.Parents are the strongest source of support for children during their growth,low-level self-disclosure to parents will increase children’s negative emotions,and their psychological needs can’t be met,which is easy to lead to a series of problem behaviors.It is not good for the growth of children.At present,there are few studies on the internal influence mechanism of self-disclosure on mobile phone dependence around high school students,so some supplementary studies in this area are needed.Previous studies have pointed out that self-disclosure,loneliness,and mobile phone dependence were correlated,and gender could moderate the relationship between loneliness and mobile phone dependence.Therefore,this study focuses on the problem of mobile phone dependence among high school students,from the perspective of the group’s self-disclosure to their parents,and innovatively introduces loneliness and gender to build a moderated mediation model.On the one hand,this study aims to understand the current situation and characteristics of mobile phone dependence,self-disclosure and loneliness among high school students;on the other hand,it explores the relationship between these core variables,and on this basis,the mediating effect of loneliness between self-disclosure and mobile phone dependence,as well as the moderating effect of gender in the second half of the mediation pathway were examined.So as to provide a theoretical basis for future related research,it also provides substantive opinions and suggestions for the prevention and intervention of high school students’ mobile phone dependence.The "Mobile Phone Dependence Index Scale"、"Adolescent Self-Disclosure Questionnaire" and "UCLA Loneliness Scale"（third edition）were used to conduct a questionnaire survey on 330 high school students in a city of Henan Province,among which were 165 boys and 165 girls,with an average age of 16.28.The specific research results are presented as follows:（1）There were significant gender differences in self-disclosure among high school students,girls scored higher.In terms of grades,the self-disclosure scores of senior three students were significantly lower than those of senior one and senior two.In terms of birthplace,urban students scored higher.In terms of parents’ educational level and only child or not,there were no significant differences in self-disclosure.（2）Individuals with scores higher than 40 can feel strong loneliness.Scores for moderate level of loneliness ranged from 40 to 60,and 221 people were detected;scores for high levels of loneliness ranged from 60 to 80,with 14 people detected.There were 235 high school students who experienced moderate or higher levels of loneliness,accounting for 71.2%of the total.The loneliness of this group is generally at a moderately high level.At the same time,there were significant gender differences in loneliness,and girls had a higher level of loneliness.（3）High school students were generally dependent on mobile phones.Among the 330 samples,91 people met the screening criteria for mobile phone dependence.That is,the detection rate of mobile phone dependence was 27.6%.There were no significant differences in mobile phone dependence in terms of gender,birthplace,only child or not,and mother’s education level.In terms of grades,there were significant differences in the dimensions of avoidance and withdrawal of mobile phone dependence.On the avoidance dimension of mobile phone dependence,the scores of the first-year students were significantly higher than those of the second-year and third-year students;On the withdrawal dimension of mobile phone dependence,the first-year students scored significantly higher than the senior-year students.There were significant differences in the dimension of out-of-control mobile phone dependence in terms of father’s education level.The scores of high school students whose father’s education was elementary school and below were significantly higher than those whose father’s education was junior high school,high school or technical secondary school.（4）There were significant correlations among high school students’ self-disclosure,loneliness,and mobile phone dependence.Self-disclosure was significantly negatively correlated with loneliness and mobile phone dependence,while loneliness and mobile phone dependence were significantly positively correlated.Self-disclosure was significantly negatively correlated with dimensions of loss of control,inefficiency and withdrawal,but not related to the avoidance dimension.Loneliness was significantly positively correlated with dimensions of loss of control,inefficiency,withdrawal,and avoidance.（5）High school students’ loneliness played a partial mediating role between self-disclosure and mobile phone dependence,mediation accounted for 16.9%of the total effect.Gender played a moderating role in the second half of the mediation pathway.Conclusions:Self-disclosure can directly predict mobile phone dependence,and it can also indirectly predict mobile phone dependence through loneliness.In the mediating pathway that self-disclosure affects mobile phone dependence through loneliness,loneliness can positively predict mobile phone dependence among female high school students,but has no effect on mobile phone dependence among male high school students.The mediating effect of loneliness in the relationship between self-disclosure and mobile phone dependence is significant only in female high school students.