Parental device use and the adolescent-caregiver attachment bond

父母使用电子设备与青少年-照护者依恋关系

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT 研究简报

“Mommy, do you love your phone more than me?”: Parental device use and the adolescent-caregiver attachment bond “妈妈，你是不是比爱我更爱你的手机？”：父母使用电子设备与青少年-照护者依恋关系

Abstract 摘要

While there is robust literature on the negative impact of adolescent device use on physical and psychological health, there is less research on the use of technology in the presence of others and its implications for key relationships. 尽管已有大量文献探讨了青少年使用电子设备对其身心健康的负面影响，但关于在他人面前使用技术及其对关键人际关系影响的研究却相对较少。

Known as “technoference” and “phubbing,” these device-based behaviors have only recently been examined in parent-child contexts. 这些基于设备的行为被称为“技术干扰”（technoference）和“低头族行为”（phubbing），直到最近才开始在亲子背景下被研究。

The present study investigated adolescents’ perceptions of their primary caregivers’ device-centric behaviors, the emotional appraisal of that behavior, and their association with the caregiver–adolescent attachment relationship. 本研究调查了青少年对其主要照护者以设备为中心的行为的感知、对该行为的情绪评估，以及这些感知与照护者-青少年依恋关系之间的关联。

We hypothesized that adolescents’ perceptions of less attentional availability would be associated with higher levels of insecure attachment. 我们假设，青少年感知到的照护者注意力缺失程度越高，其不安全依恋水平就越高。

To test this, we validated the Device Attachment Interference Scale (DAIS) in a general population sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 600; ages 12–17). 为了验证这一点，我们在美国青少年普通人群样本（N = 600；年龄12-17岁）中验证了“设备依恋干扰量表”（DAIS）。

We also examined the association between DAIS scores and adolescent-reported attachment to a primary caregiver using the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures scale. 我们还使用“亲密关系经历-关系结构量表”，考察了DAIS得分与青少年报告的对主要照护者的依恋程度之间的关联。

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure of the DAIS. 探索性和验证性因素分析支持了DAIS的单维度结构。

Additionally, higher DAIS scores were consistently associated with greater insecure attachment (both anxious and avoidant) to both mother- and father-like figures. 此外，DAIS得分越高，与母亲和父亲形象人物之间的不安全依恋（包括焦虑型和回避型）程度就越高，这一结果具有一致性。

These findings highlight adolescents’ perceptions of caregiver attentional availability in the context of device use as a potentially important relational context associated with attachment insecurity. 这些发现强调，在电子设备使用背景下，青少年对照护者注意力可及性的感知，是与依恋不安全感相关的一个潜在重要关系背景。

Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. 文中还讨论了研究意义、局限性及未来研究方向。

Introduction 引言

Several years ago, a mother familiar with the first author’s work surrounding healthy device use and digital-behavior mindfulness for families, shared with him a distressing event in which her young daughter asked her, “Mommy, do you love your phone more than me?” (Anonymous, personal communication, 2018). 几年前，一位熟悉第一作者关于家庭健康使用设备和数字行为正念研究的母亲，向他分享了一件令人心碎的事：她年幼的女儿问她：“妈妈，你是不是比爱我更爱你的手机？”（匿名，个人通讯，2018）。

Similar accounts had been increasingly emerging in his clinical practice, with adolescents reporting that parental attention to screens during bids for connection left them feeling devalued, dismissed, or unimportant. 类似的叙述在他的临床实践中越来越多地出现，青少年们反映，当他们试图与父母建立联系时，父母对屏幕的关注让他们感到自己被贬低、被忽视或不重要。

Although prior research has documented how digital media use may alter communication patterns between people (Amelia and Balqis, 2023; Strauss et al., 2025), far less is known about the effect of device use in the proximity of others. 尽管先前的研究记录了数字媒体的使用如何改变人与人之间的沟通模式（Amelia and Balqis, 2023; Strauss et al., 2025），但对于在他人身边使用设备的影响，我们知之甚少。

This is especially relevant to caregivers and whether screen use may impact relational dynamics with adolescents. 这一点对于照护者尤为重要，特别是屏幕使用是否会影响他们与青少年之间的关系动态。

In particular, whether it shapes youths’ perceptions of caregiver attentional availability and responsiveness—an essential component of attachment security (Bowlby, 1969)—and ultimately affects that bond. 特别是，它是否会塑造青少年对照护者注意力可及性和响应性的感知——这是依恋安全感的重要组成部分（Bowlby, 1969）——并最终影响这种纽带。

Smartphone use is ubiquitous. While data on parents is limited, many adults have acknowledged that their smartphone use interferes with time spent with their children; in 2020, 68% of parents reported being at least “sometimes” distracted by their phones when with their child (Auxier, 2020). 智能手机的使用无处不在。虽然关于父母的数据有限，但许多成年人承认，他们使用智能手机干扰了陪伴孩子的时间；2020年，68%的父母表示在陪伴孩子时至少“有时”会被手机分心（Auxier, 2020）。

Teens echo this experience. In a 2024 Pew survey, 46% reported a parent “at least sometimes gets distracted by their phone” during conversations (Anderson, 2024). 青少年也印证了这一经历。在2024年皮尤研究中心的一项调查中，46%的青少年表示父母在交谈时“至少有时会被手机分心”（Anderson, 2024）。

Together, these data highlight a modern concern: parental attention is competed for-and often captured by-smartphones and other digital devices. 总之，这些数据凸显了一个现代问题：父母的注意力正在被智能手机和其他数字设备争夺，并经常被其占据。

Given the pervasiveness of such distraction, even a modest impact on parent-child interaction could have meaningful consequences. 鉴于这种分心现象的普遍性，即使是对亲子互动产生轻微的影响，也可能带来深远的后果。

The present investigation addresses this gap by examining how adolescents’ perception of caregiver attentional availability related to their device use is associated with attachment-relevant experiences within the family system. 本研究通过考察青少年对因照护者使用设备而导致的注意力可及性感知，如何与家庭系统内的依恋相关经历产生关联，从而填补了这一研究空白。