Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The AMORAL model emphasizes that adverse environments foster malevolent creativity. Parental technoference, as a adverse family environment characterized by the disruption of parent-child interpersonal interactions due to parents' use of digital technology, may be associated with malevolent creative behavior. In addition, parental technoference increases children's susceptibility to engaging in phubbing, which refers to prioritizing mobile device use over face-to-face interaction in social contexts. However, existing research has not thoroughly examined the direct association between parental technoference and malevolent creative behavior, nor have the underlying psychological mechanisms been adequately explored. To address this gap, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between parental technoference and malevolent creative behavior, the mediating role of phubbing in this association, and the moderating effect of mindfulness on this mediation. METHODS: A sample of 792 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 14.75 years, SD = 1.56) completed the Parental Technoference Scale, the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale, the Brief Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and the Phubbing Scale. RESULTS: Parental technoference positively correlated with malevolent creative behavior, and phubbing mediated the connection between parental technoference and malevolent creative behavior. Moreover, mindfulness moderated the indirect effect of the mediation model. Specifically, mindfulness mitigated the positive association between parental technoference and phubbing, while strengthening the positive relationship between phubbing and malevolent creative behavior. CONCLUSION: The higher parental technoference, the higher level of phubbing, which in turn boosted the tendency of malevolent creative behavior. This indirect relationship was moderated by mindfulness, such that individuals with higher levels of mindfulness were more effective in buffering the adverse effects of phubbing arising from parental technoference, while also demonstrating an increased tendency toward malevolent creative behavior as a consequence of phubbing.