Abstract

This study deepens our understanding of CDS examining the latent moderating effects of parental phubbing and positive emotional expressiveness on the relationship between children’s CDS and depressive symptoms. Data were collected from 529 elementary school students in grades 4 to 6. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and latent moderated structural equation modeling were conducted using SPSS 27.0 and Mplus 8.11. The main findings are as follows: (1) children’s CDS significantly positively affected their depressive symptoms, (2) parental phubbing significantly moderated the association between CDS and depression, and (3) parental positive emotional expressiveness also significantly moderated this relationship. These findings identify CDS as an intrapersonal vulnerability factor for childhood depression, and underscore the importance of family- and parent-focused intervention strategies to promote children’s mental health.