Parental marital conflict and short video dependency: a moderated mediation model

TL;DR

This study explores how parental marital conflict affects adolescents' short video dependency through stress and how physical activity can reduce this effect.

Contribution

The study introduces a moderated mediation model linking parental marital conflict, stress, and short video dependency in adolescents.

Findings

Parental marital conflict is positively linked to adolescent short video dependency and stress.

Stress mediates the relationship between parental marital conflict and short video dependency.

Physical activity weakens the link between stress and short video dependency.

Abstract

This study aims to examine the mediating role of stress and the moderating effect of physical activity (PA) in the relationship between parental marital conflict (PMC) and adolescent short video dependency (SVD).

This study employed convenience sampling to recruit 719 adolescents aged 12–18 years from northwestern Hunan Province, China (M = 14.22, SD = 1.46). The data encompassed PMC, adolescent SVD, stress levels, and PA. Analytical procedures—ranging from descriptive and correlational summaries to tests of indirect and conditional indirect effects—were executed in SPSS with the PROCESS macro.

After controlling for demographic covariates, PMC was significantly and positively associated with adolescent SVD and perceived stress. Mediation analyses further showed that stress significantly mediated the association between PMC and adolescent SVD. In addition, PA significantly and negatively moderated the stress–SVD link, such that the positive association between stress and adolescent SVD was weaker among adolescents with higher levels of PA.

These findings clarify how PMC translates into adolescent SVD at the psychological level. Stress was identified as a mediating factor, while PA, as a moderating mechanism, may attenuate the relationship between stress and adolescent SVD.

Figures