성별에 따른 초기 청소년의 스마트폰 중독이 또래애착에 미치는 영향: 자아정체감의 매개효과

Abstract

The major purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of perceived smart phone addiction and ego-identity on peer attachment according to early adolescent’s gender. A total of 306 first graders registered in middle schools located in Gyeonggi and Daejeon completed a questionnaire. The results were as follows: First, the boys perceived more alienation among subfactors of peer attachment than girls. Second, both boys and girls were found to have difficulty in forming ego-identity as they showed high tendency toward addiction to smart phones. Third, the boys showed a full mediating effect of ego-identity in the relationship between smart phone addiction and peer attachment, trust, communication, and alienation. In the case of the girls, only the relationship between the addiction of smart phone and the subordinate factor of peer attachment, alienation, showed a full mediating effect of ego-identity. The results of this study suggest that positive ego-identity is needed when considering the relationship between smart phone usage and peer attachment.