Golestaneh Seyed Mousa

The aim of the present study was to determine the mediating role of social support in the relationship between phubbing behavior and perceived covert relational aggression in married students. This was a descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling. The statistical population was married students at universities in Bushehr in 2025. 260 people participated in an online survey using convenience sampling method and responded to the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet et al., 1988), the General Phubbing Scale (GSP; Chotpitayasunondh and Douglas, 2018), and the Covert Relational Aggression scale (GRAS; Carroll et al., 2010). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling. The findings showed that the proposed model had a favorable fit and explained 52% of the variance in covert relational aggression. The results showed that phubbing behavior was positively and social support was negatively related to covert relational aggression (P<0.05); phubbing behavior was also negatively related to social support (P<0.05). The results of the bootstrap test showed that social support played a mediating role in the relationship between phubbing behavior and covert relational aggression (P<0.05). From these findings, it can be concluded that social support is a mediating factor in the relationship between phubbing behavior and perceived covert relational aggression in married students.