Investigation of the relationship between mothers' phubbing behaviors and taking safety precautions for home accidents: A cross-sectional correlational study

Abstract

Objective

To determine the relationship between the safety measures taken by mothers against home accidents and phubbing behavior.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and May 2025. The study was completed with 390 mothers. Mothers with preschool children aged 3–5 years living in Kahramanmaraş province completed the Sociodemographic and Social Support Perception Questionnaire, Scale of Diagnosing the Safety Precautions for Home Accidents of Mothers with 0–6 Age Group Children and the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP). Multivariate regression analysis modeling was applied to test the mediating effect of different sociodemographic and social support questions on the relationship between mothers' phubbing behavior and their safety precautions for home accidents.

Results

The mean age of the mothers included in the study was 36.51 ± 5.78 years. Analysis identified a significant strong negative correlation between mothers' phubbing behavior and the safety measures they took to counter home accidents. In the regression model mothers' employment status, receiving support for child care (financial and support from friends, neighbors, caregivers, etc.) and nomophobia, one of the GSP sub-dimensions, explained 78.1 % of their behavior when taking safety measures against home accidents (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

These results suggest that parents' phubbing behavior may increase the likelihood of children having home accidents.

Implications to practice

Pediatric nurses can provide interventions to reduce mothers' nomophobia and contribute to changing families' phubbing behaviors.