164 - The Need for Autonomy, Safety, and Structure: A Qualitative Study of Adolescent Perspectives on School Phone Bans

Publication Number: 1154.164

Ezra Bisom-Rapp, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, Del Mar, CA, United States; Christopher Douglas. Otmar, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco,, CA, United States; Char Potes, University of California, Berkeley, Albany, CA, United States; Sahana Nayak, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Jose, CA, United States; Kyle Ganson, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Jason M. Nagata, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States

Background: Many schools have adopted or expanded mobile phone bans to address concerns about student achievement and mental health. However, evidence supporting ban efficacy is equivocal, and students and parents have raised concerns over implementation. Research on how student perception impacts ban success is sparse, especially among United States adolescents from diverse backgrounds.

Objective: In this qualitative study, we aimed to understand how adolescents' perceptions of school mobile phone bans shape ban success using grounded theory methodology.

Design/Methods: We developed a semi-structured interview guide to explore adolescents' perspectives on social media, well-being, and rules about technology use. Thirty virtual interviews, about one hour each, were conducted with U.S. adolescents aged 16-19. Participants were recruited through paid advertising on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, and data collection continued until thematic saturation was reached. Our team iteratively coded and analyzed transcripts using the constant comparison method to construct a grounded theory-informed model of adolescents' interpretations of school mobile phone bans. Interviewer positionality as a medical student was considered.

Results: Thirty adolescents from diverse racial and social backgrounds participated (Table 1). Three interrelated themes emerged: the need for autonomy, the need for safety, and the need for support in managing a perceived dependence on mobile phones (Table 2). Adolescents asserted their need for autonomy by either defying the bans or independently engaging with their schoolwork. Others opposing bans linked their resistance to unmet need for a safe school environment, citing threats of school shootings, physical harm, and social ostracism. Finally, some participants felt that bans provided a beneficial structure to resist compulsive phone use, provided that bans allowed for reasonable access to technology. From these themes, we derived a grounded theory model illustrating how these needs and perceptions shape the impacts of phone bans (Figure 1).

Conclusion(s): Successful implementation of school mobile phone bans may be contingent on an environment that fulfills students' needs for autonomy and safety, which is consistent with the Self-Determination Theory model of adolescent development. Bans may be most effective when integrated into broader efforts that promote self-efficacy and school safety. This exploratory study offers context for schools considering the adoption of mobile phone restrictions and for future research.

Table 1: Participant demographics


Table 2: Select quotes
Representative quotes are included for each theme: the need for autonomy, the need for safety, and the need for structure to resist a perceived dependence on mobile phones.

Figure 1: Grounded theory model on the effect of school environments on phone use
This model shows how met or unmet needs for autonomy and safety impact student perceptions, ultimately resulting in positive or negative outcomes once a school phone ban is implemented. A perceived dependence on mobile phones can result in prioritizing phone use over academic success in the absence of a phone ban, and a phone ban may be most helpful for these students. Similarly, an environment optimized for student safety and self-efficacy may overcome student resistance to mobile phone bans.