Study: "Mommy, do you love your phone more than me?"

A study of 600 U.S. adolescents found that higher perceptions of parental device use and inattention—known as "technoference"—are significantly associated with increased insecure attachment to caregivers, including both anxious and avoidant attachment styles. The research validated a new Device Attachment Interference Scale (DAIS) and suggests that adolescents' concerns about competing with parents' phones for attention may have meaningful implications for caregiver-child relationships. These findings underscore the importance of parental attentional availability during interactions with adolescents.