{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T10:38:39Z","timestamp":1771670319191,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741824000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>With the rising prevalence of depressive symptoms among younger individuals, depressive symptoms in elementary school students have become a focal issue of concern in society. This study investigated the association between parent-child relationship and depressive symptoms among Chinese elementary school students while testing a moderated mediation model to examine the mediating role of significant study stress and the moderating effect of frequent mobile phone use on this relationship.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We recruited elementary school students from grades 3 to 6 in S district of Chongqing, China, totaling 33,285 participants (51.72% girls; mean age = 10.36 years, SD = 1.24). Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess the mediating and moderating effects of study stress and mobile phone use, respectively, on the relationship between parent-child relationship and depressive symptoms.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Depressive symptoms prevalence in our study population was 16.3%. Both fair and poor parent-child relationships were significantly linked to an increased risk of depressive symptoms, with study stress serving as a mediator (indirect effects: fair parent-child relationship = 0.058, poor parent-child relationship = 0.031, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Frequent mobile phone use amplified the impact of fair parent-child relationships on study stress (\u03b2=0.024, SE=0.016, p &amp;lt; 0.05) and depressive symptoms (\u03b2 = 0.021, SE = 0.018, p &amp;lt; 0.05) but did not moderate the relationship between poor parent-child relationships and these outcomes.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These results emphasize the importance of nurturing parent-child relationship, monitoring study stress, and managing mobile phone usage to support students\u2019 mental health. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the impact of mobile phone usage on the mental health of elementary school students varies in complexity across different parent-child relationship contexts, providing valuable insights and recommendations for developing targeted preventive interventions for depressive symptoms in this demographic.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1555120","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T07:06:24Z","timestamp":1741849584000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The effects of parent-child relationship, study stress, and mobile phone use on depressive symptoms among Chinese elementary school students: a moderated mediation model"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yiting","family":"Kong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhewei","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jianyu","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuancen","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ming","family":"Ai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wo","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Su","family":"Hong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Kuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Dsm-5","year":"2013"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.3390\/children11030327","article-title":"The effects of family and school interpersonal relationships on depression in Chinese elementary school children: the mediating role of academic stress and the moderating role of self-esteem","volume":"11","author":"Liao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Children (Basel)"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01484.x","article-title":"Self-reported depressed mood in Russian and U.K. Schoolchildren. A research note","volume":"37","author":"Charman","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Child Psychol Psychiatry"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-009-0005-z","article-title":"Screening for children\u2019s depression symptoms in Greece: the use of the children\u2019s depression inventory in a nation-wide school-based sample","volume":"18","author":"Giannakopoulos","year":"2009","journal-title":"Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0447.1992.tb01436.x","article-title":"Prevalence and short-term stability of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren","volume":"85","author":"Larsson","year":"1992","journal-title":"Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2020.02.034","article-title":"Prevalence of depressive symptoms in primary school students in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"268","author":"Xu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"953","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.1042.2022.00953","article-title":"Prevalence of mental health problems among primary school students in Chinese Mainland from 2010 to 2010: A meta-analysis","volume":"30","author":"Huang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Adv psychol Sci"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.2023.23","article-title":"Impact of anxiety and depression across childhood and adolescence on adverse outcomes in young adulthood: A UK birth cohort study","volume":"222","author":"Morales-Mu\u00f1oz","year":"2023","journal-title":"Br J Psychiatry"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaac.2020.07.895","article-title":"Associations of childhood and adolescent depression with adult psychiatric and functional outcomes","volume":"60","author":"Copeland","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry"},{"key":"B10","volume-title":"Attachment and Loss","author":"Bowlby","year":"1969"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/cdep.12054","article-title":"Is insecure parent-child attachment a risk factor for the development of anxiety in childhood or adolescence","volume":"8","author":"Kerns","year":"2014","journal-title":"Child Dev Perspect"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.30574","article-title":"The effect of parenting and the parent-child relationship on a child\u2019s cognitive development: A literature review","volume":"14","author":"Lanjekar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2019.09.016","article-title":"Impact of parent\u2013child relationship and sex on trajectories of children internalizing symptoms","volume":"260","author":"Wu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-019-01424-6","article-title":"Interparental and parent\u2013child conflict predicting adolescent depressive symptoms","volume":"28","author":"Smith","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Child Family Stud"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2020.05.128","article-title":"Depressive symptoms prevalence, associated family factors, and gender differences: A national cohort study of middle school students in China","volume":"274","author":"Ma","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1186\/s13034-024-00769-1","article-title":"Association of early parent\u2013child separation with depression, social and academic performance in adolescence and early adulthood: A prospective cohort study","volume":"18","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2021.105408","article-title":"Mediating effects of parent-child relationship on the association between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms among adolescents","volume":"131","author":"Song","year":"2022","journal-title":"Child Abuse Negl"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"87 + 9","DOI":"10.16070\/j.cnki.cn45-1388\/g4s.2019.29.038","article-title":"Investigation on study stress and its influencing factors of urban elementary school students","volume":"8","author":"Wu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Survey Educ"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2147\/ndt.S77179","article-title":"Effects of a selective educational system on fatigue, sleep problems, daytime sleepiness, and depression among senior high school adolescents in Taiwan","volume":"11","author":"Chen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13312-015-0609-y","article-title":"Academic stress and depression among adolescents: A cross-sectional study","volume":"52","author":"Jayanthi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Indian Pediatr"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1007\/s12187-013-9197-3","article-title":"Adolescent suicide triggered by problems at school in Korea: analyses focusing on depression, suicidal ideation, plan, and attempts as four dimensions of suicide","volume":"7","author":"Park","year":"2014","journal-title":"Child Indic Res"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sbspro.2016.02.063","article-title":"The role of parent-child relationship, self-esteem, academic self-efficacy to academic stress","volume":"217","author":"Mulyadi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc - Soc Behav Sci"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15354\/sief.21.or035","article-title":"The influence of parent-child relationship on the academic pressure of elementary students: A moderated mediation model-based on the survey and analysis of 38,069 elementary students","volume":"9","author":"Liao","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci Insights Educ Front"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.09.060","article-title":"Perceived academic stress and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis of overweight status","volume":"296","author":"Fu","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B25","volume-title":"Study on Adolescent Depression and Its Influencing Mechanism","author":"Qin","year":"2022"},{"key":"B26","unstructured":"The 48th statistical report on China\u2019s internet development\n          \n          \n          \n          2023"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/0965254X.2015.1095222","article-title":"Social media engagement behaviour: A uses and gratifications perspective","volume":"24","author":"Dolan","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Strategic Marketing"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.addbeh.2018.04.015","article-title":"Parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent internet addiction: A moderated mediation model","volume":"84","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Addict Behav"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.addbeh.2022.107304","article-title":"Parent-child relationship and smartphone addiction among Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal moderated mediation model","volume":"130","author":"Qiu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Addict Behav"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2016.08.030","article-title":"Problematic smartphone use: A conceptual overview and systematic review of relations with anxiety and depression psychopathology","volume":"207","author":"Elhai","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmedr.2018.10.003","article-title":"Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: evidence from a population-based study","volume":"12","author":"Twenge","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prev Med Rep"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0199959","article-title":"Association between mobile technology use and child adjustment in early elementary school age","volume":"13","author":"Hosokawa","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/jan.0000000000000074","article-title":"Mobile phone overuse among elementary school students in Korea: factors associated with mobile phone use as a behavior addiction","volume":"26","author":"Kim","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Addict Nurs"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/0118749445304093240516113739","article-title":"Investigating the relationship between the use of mobile phones and the level of anxiety, depression, and stress of first-secondary school students","volume":"17","author":"Faryabi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Open Public Health J"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.9708\/jksci.2018.23.11.211","article-title":"The effects of depression on mobile phone dependency among elementary school students: testing the mediating effect of self-esteem and the moderating effect of gender","volume":"23","author":"Kim","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Korea Soc Comput Inf"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-023-04786-w","article-title":"Association of parent-child relationship quality and problematic mobile phone use with non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents","volume":"23","author":"Xu","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"B37","article-title":"The children\u2019s depression, inventory (Cdi)","volume":"21","author":"Kovacs","year":"1985","journal-title":"Psychopharmacol Bull"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/s15374424jccp3301_14","article-title":"Assessing depression in youth: relation between the children\u2019s depression inventory and a structured interview","volume":"33","author":"Timbremont","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol"},{"key":"B39","article-title":"Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of children\u2019s depression inventory","volume":"24","author":"Wu","year":"2010","journal-title":"Chin Ment Health J"},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x","article-title":"Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect","volume":"52","author":"Bowlby","year":"1982","journal-title":"Am J Orthopsychiatry"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jocm.2016.09.005","article-title":"Dummy coding vs effects coding for categorical variables: clarifications and extensions","volume":"21","author":"Daly","year":"2016","journal-title":"J choice Model"},{"key":"B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.22070\/cpap.2020.2852","article-title":"Structural equation modeling and its application in psychological studies: A review study","volume":"16","author":"Gholami Fesharaki","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin Psychol Pers"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1000477","DOI":"10.1080\/2331186X.2014.1000477","article-title":"Academic stress in Chinese schools and a proposed preventive intervention program","volume":"2","author":"Zhao","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cogent Educ"},{"key":"B44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"333","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.46.4.333","article-title":"An ethological approach to personality development","volume":"46","author":"Ainsworth","year":"1991","journal-title":"Am Psychol"},{"key":"B45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.1041.2023.00469","article-title":"Parent-child attachment and children\u2019s depressive symptoms: the role of children\u2019s biological sensitivity and parental gender differences","volume":"55","author":"Xu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Psychologica Sin"},{"key":"B46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.puhe.2021.12.015","article-title":"Relationship between parent-child attachment and depression among migrant children and left-behind children in China","volume":"204","author":"Shuang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Public Health"},{"key":"B47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/s0140-1971(03)00029-0","article-title":"Parent-child interaction and children\u2019s depression: the relationships between parent-child interaction and children\u2019s depressive symptoms in Taiwan","volume":"26","author":"Liu","year":"2003","journal-title":"J Adolesc"},{"key":"B48","first-page":"11","article-title":"The relationships between inept parenting and adolescent depression dimension and conduct behaviors","volume":"8","author":"Kao","year":"1998","journal-title":"Chin J Fam Med"},{"key":"B49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.1007\/s10567-019-00299-9","article-title":"The relation between attachment and depression in children and adolescents: A multilevel meta-analysis","volume":"23","author":"Spruit","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev"},{"key":"B50","volume-title":"Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders","author":"Beck","year":"1979"},{"key":"B51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10608-006-9100-3","article-title":"Specificity in the relations among childhood adversity, early maladaptive schemas, and symptom profiles in adolescent depression","volume":"31","author":"Lumley","year":"2007","journal-title":"Cogn Ther Res"},{"key":"B52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-8624.2009.01405.x","article-title":"The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children\u2019s externalizing behavior: A meta-analytic study","volume":"81","author":"Fearon","year":"2010","journal-title":"Child Dev"},{"key":"B53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12187-018-9577-9","article-title":"Social support and academic stress in the development of psychological adjustment in Chinese migrant children: examination of compensatory model of psychological resilience","volume":"12","author":"Song","year":"2019","journal-title":"Child Indic Res"},{"key":"B54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-287-630-0_9","article-title":"Parental involvement and children\u2019s academic motivation and achievement","volume-title":"Building Autonomous Learners: Perspectives from Research and Practice Using Self-Determination Theory","author":"Grolnick","year":"2016"},{"key":"B55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5204\/thesis.eprints.107980","volume-title":"Academic Stress and Mental Health among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China","author":"Liu","year":"2017"},{"key":"B56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.760387","article-title":"Perceived academic stress and depression: the mediation role of mobile phone addiction and sleep quality","volume":"10","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"B57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2019.01307","article-title":"Mini review of the use of the mobile phone and its repercussion in the deficit of physical activity","volume":"10","author":"Zagalaz-S\u00e1nchez","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"B58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.26719\/emhj.20.043","article-title":"Mobile phone use pattern and addiction in relation to depression and anxiety","volume":"26","author":"El-Sayed-Desouky","year":"2020","journal-title":"East Mediterr Health J"},{"key":"B59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104384","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2019.104384","article-title":"How is problematic smartphone use related to adolescent depression? A moderated mediation analysis","volume":"104","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Children Youth Serv Rev"},{"key":"B60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.17576\/JKMJC-2020-3603-25","article-title":"The influence of mobile phone addiction on academic performance among teenagers","volume":"36","author":"Abd Rashid","year":"2020","journal-title":"Malays J Commun Jilid"},{"key":"B61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105406","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2020.105406","article-title":"Mobile phone addiction and school performance among Chinese adolescents from low-income families: A moderated mediation model","volume":"118","author":"Bai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Children Youth Serv Rev"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychiatry"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1555120\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T07:06:31Z","timestamp":1741849591000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1555120\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]]},"references-count":61,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1555120"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2025.1555120","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-0640"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-0640","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]]},"article-number":"1555120"}}