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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1470175

Partner Phubbing and Relational Aggression in Romantic Relationships Among Young Adults in China: The Roles of Social Support and Gender

Provisionally accepted
Liang Ying Liang Ying 1,2Lvzhou Ren Lvzhou Ren 3Xin Wang Xin Wang 4Jiankang He Jiankang He 5Xue Yang Xue Yang 4*Guohua Zhang Guohua Zhang 5,6,7*
  • 1 School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 2 School of Renji, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 3 School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
  • 4 Centre for Health Behaviours Research, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China
  • 5 Department of Psychology, School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzohu, China
  • 6 Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Affiliated Wenzhou Kangning Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzohu, China
  • 7 Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research for Mental Disorders, Wenzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Phubbing may have significant interpersonal consequences. This study examines the association between partner phubbing and relational aggression, the mediation effect of social support, and the moderation effect of gender among young Chinese adults. Method: A total of 772 young adults currently in a romantic relationship participated in an online survey that assessed their partner phubbing, relational aggression, and social support (i.e., ideal support, actual support, and discrepancy between ideal and actual support). Results: The results show that partner phubbing was positively and significantly correlated with relational aggression for males and females, respectively. Actual support and support discrepancy partially mediated the relationship between partner phubbing and relational aggression among all participants. Regarding gender difference, actual support and support discrepancy partially mediated the relationship between partner phubbing and relational aggression in females but were not significant mediators for males. Discussion: These findings suggest that partner phubbing had a significant effect on relational aggression in romantic relationships for both male and female participants. Social support may play a significant role between partner phubbing and relational aggression in females only. Tailored interventions for partner phubbing to prevent negative interpersonal consequences are warranted.

    Keywords: Cramer, D. (2004). Emotional Support, conflict, Depression, and Relationship Satisfaction in a Romantic Partner romantic relationships, Partner phubbing, Relational aggression, social support

    Received: 25 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ying, Ren, Wang, He, Yang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xue Yang, Centre for Health Behaviours Research, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Region, China
    Guohua Zhang, Department of Psychology, School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzohu, China

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