{"id":579801,"date":"2026-08-02T04:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/579801\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T04:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:34:15","slug":"childhood-trauma-may-fuel-teen-smartphone-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/579801\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood trauma may fuel teen smartphone addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"(123rf)\"\/ (123rf) <\/p>\n

Childhood abuse may leave teenagers more vulnerable to smartphone addiction by eroding self-esteem and deepening depression, according to a Korean study that suggests excessive phone use can reflect trauma rather than a lack of self-control.<\/p>\n

Adolescents who reported higher levels of physical, verbal or emotional abuse by parents or caregivers also tended to show stronger signs of smartphone addiction, the study found.<\/p>\n

Lower self-esteem and more severe depressive symptoms were each associated with greater smartphone dependence. Experiences of abuse were also linked to lower self-worth and higher levels of depression.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildhood abuse has a direct effect on smartphone addiction,\u201d the researchers wrote. They also identified a sequential pathway in which abuse lowers self-esteem, increases depression and ultimately raises the risk of smartphone addiction.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the journal of the Korean Academy of Mental Health Social Work, was conducted by Jeon Cho-won, a doctoral candidate in social welfare at Ewha Womans University, and other researchers.<\/p>\n

It analyzed 2022 data from a panel study on Korean children covering 1,269 second-year middle school students who owned smartphones. The group included 647 boys and 622 girls.<\/p>\n

The researchers examined the relationship among childhood abuse, self-esteem, depression and smartphone addiction. Abuse was defined as physical, verbal or emotional mistreatment by a parent or guardian.<\/p>\n

The findings suggest that efforts to curb excessive smartphone use should go beyond screen-time limits and household rules.<\/p>\n

Schools, counseling centers and welfare agencies should establish integrated risk assessments that examine abuse, family conflict and emotional difficulties among adolescents showing signs of smartphone dependence, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterventions for smartphone addiction among adolescents who have experienced abuse need to incorporate a trauma-informed care approach,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The researchers also called for stronger referral systems connecting at-risk students with counseling and mental health centers, child protection agencies and medical institutions.<\/p>\n

Korea should more closely link its response to child abuse with programs aimed at preventing digital addiction among adolescents, they added.<\/p>\n

hnpark@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(123rf) Childhood abuse may leave teenagers more vulnerable to smartphone addiction by eroding self-esteem and deepening depression, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,61,60],"class_list":["post-579801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}