The impact of parental phubbing has attracted the attention of researchers, especially concerning adolescents’ online behavior. However, limited research has studied the influence of parental phubbing on interpersonal aggression, including the underlying mechanism. Grounded in parental acceptance–rejection theory, the present study investigated the association between parental phubbing and interpersonal aggression as well as the mediating role of rejection sensitivity among adolescents. Additionally, school climate was explored as a moderator based on social ecological theory. The multiple questionnaires were completed by 914 Chinese adolescents ( M = 12.61; SD = 1.73; 49.78% girls). The results revealed a positive correlation between parental phubbing and aggression, which was mediated by rejection sensitivity. That is, adolescents who experienced parental phubbing were more likely to exhibit rejection sensitivity, which further triggered aggression. Moreover, school climate acted as a moderator in the model. Specifically, we found no significant moderating effect of school climate on parental phubbing and aggression. However, school climate moderated the relationship between rejection sensitivity and aggression. A positive school climate buffered the associations of rejection sensitivity and aggression. Additionally, school climate moderated the relationship between parental phubbing and rejection sensitivity. The relationship between parental phubbing and rejection sensitivity became nonsignificant when adolescents were in a negative school climate, and those adolescents reported higher rejection sensitivity whether they experienced parental phubbing or not. Parental phubbing was more strongly associated with adolescents’ rejection sensitivity in a positive school climate. With a lower level of parental phubbing, rejection sensitivity is sharply reduced. The results deepen our understanding of the relationship between parental phubbing and aggression and its underlying mechanisms. It also implicates preventative interventions to reduce the risk of parental phubbing in interpersonal aggression among adolescents.

Shyness has been shown to be linked to aggression. However, whether this relationship occurs in cyberspace and the mechanisms that might affect it are largely unexplored. Based on the social fitness model, the current study examined the relationship between shyness and cyber aggression, as well as the mediating roles of passive use and relative deprivation. Moreover, according to the integration of the social information processing model and moral domain theory, moral sensitivity serves as a moderator in the direct and indirect links between shyness and cyber aggression. A total of 700 Chinese college students ( M age = 18.68, 53.57% women) participated in the current study and completed multiple questionnaires, namely, the Shyness Scale, Cyber-Aggression Scale, Passive Use of Social Network Site Scale, Relative Deprivation Scale, and Ethical Sensitivity Scale. The results showed that shyness was positively associated with cyber aggression through the multiple mediating effects of passive use and relative deprivation. Additionally, moderated mediation analysis indicated that moral sensitivity moderated the direct and indirect relationship between shyness and cyber aggression. A high level of moral sensitivity weakened the association of shyness with cyber aggression and the association of relative deprivation with cyber aggression, supporting the moderated mediation model. This study implicates the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between shyness and cyber aggression and preventative interventions to reduce the risk of cyber aggression.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given the global e-commerce market a strong boost, of which China has the largest share and is growing rapidly. Concerns have been raised about intensified work stress and its consequences on health and safety among Chinese couriers. Sociological research of work and occupations has offered important insights into the labour process and politics of the gig economy, although how exactly the workers perceive and respond to technology-driven structural changes remains less clear. We conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with frontline couriers in May-June 2021 in China and interpreted the emerged themes following the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Four major work-stressor themes were identified: customer sovereignty, algorithmic management, economic precarity and networked support. These work conditions rarely worked alone. Technological, managerial and customer controlling mechanisms reinforced each other and increased work stress. In the absence of adequate organizational support, workers found support and resources through personal networks.