A Cross-Lagged Study of Helicopter Parenting, Parent–Child Conflict, and Adolescents’ Short Video Addiction: The Moderating Role of Trait Autonomy

Abstract

Short video addiction has become an increasingly important problem among adolescents, yet its family antecedents remain understudied. The present study used a cross-lagged design to examine relations among adolescent-reported helicopter parenting, parent–child conflict, and short video addiction, as well as the moderating role of trait autonomy. Cross-lagged data were collected from Chinese adolescents (N = 1051; mean age at baseline = 16.42 years; standard deviation = 0.83). Results showed that helicopter parenting at Time 1 (T1) did not predict short video addiction at Time 2 (T2), whereas short video addiction at T1 positively predicted helicopter parenting at T2. Bidirectional associations were found between helicopter parenting and parent–child conflict, and between parent–child conflict and short video addiction. In addition, a small indirect association from T1 helicopter parenting to T2 short video addiction through parent–child conflict was observed. Compared with adolescents with high trait autonomy, helicopter parenting, parent–child conflict, and short video addiction showed greater stability from T1 to T2 among adolescents with low trait autonomy. These findings underscore the importance of considering both family relationship processes and adolescents’ self-regulatory characteristics in interventions for short video addiction.