Cell phone usage, parent-child attachment and students’ indiscipline among Kyambogo university undergraduate students

Abstract

The study sought to examine the relationships between cell phone usage, parent-child attachment, and students' indiscipline among Kyambogo University undergraduate students. A cross-sectional survey was used as the research design, with undergraduate students from each faculty selected as the sample through proportionate sampling. Data was collected from 349 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire from a population of 30,501 students. Analysis using correlation and regression was performed on the data with SPSS version 22. The results revealed that there was no significant relationship between parent child attachment and students' indiscipline (p = 0.078, >0.050, r = 0.691) but there was a significant relationship between cell phone use and students' indiscipline. Furthermore, cell phone usage significantly contributes to parent child attachment, accounting for 61.7% of the variance. The relationship between cell phone usage and students' indiscipline was examined further using the Sobel test to see if parent-child attachment significantly mediated it. The findings demonstrated that the relationship between students' indiscipline and cell phone use is significantly mediated by parent-child attachment (Z = 3.86, p < .001). In conclusion, technology impacts on student behavior and parent – child attachment. Therefore, the study recommends implementation of strategies geared toward healthy parent – child attachment and responsible usage of cellphones to avert or minimize acts of indiscipline.