Internet-enabled smartphones are increasingly ubiquitous in the Western world. Research suggests a number of problems can result from mobile phone overuse, including dependence, dangerous and prohibited use. For over a decade, this has been measured by the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire (PMPU-Q). Given the rapid developments in mobile technologies, changes of use patterns and possible problematic and addictive use, the aim of the present study was to investigate and validate an updated contemporary version of the PMPU-Q (PMPU-Q-R). A mixed methods convergent design was employed, including a psychometric survey (N = 512) alongside qualitative focus groups (N = 21), to elicit experiences and perceptions of problematic smartphone use. The results suggest the PMPU-Q-R factor structure can be updated to include smartphone dependence, dangerous driving, and antisocial smartphone use factors. Theories of problematic mobile phone use require consideration of the ubiquity and indispensability of smartphones in the present day and age, particularly regarding use whilst driving and in social interactions.

PurposePeople affected by cancer often have unmet emotional and social support needs. Online cancer communities are a convenient channel for connecting cancer survivors, allowing them to support one another. However, it is unclear whether online community use makes a meaningful contribution to cancer survivorship, as little previous research has examined the experience of using contemporary cancer communities. We aimed to explore the experiences of visitors to online cancer communities.MethodsTwenty-three in-depth interviews were conducted with online cancer community visitors, including cancer survivors (n = 18), family members (n = 2), and individuals who were both a survivor and family member (n = 3). Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach.ResultsA theory developed explaining how individuals ‘navigated’ the experience of cancer using online cancer communities. Online advice and information led participants on a ‘journey to become informed’. Online friendships normalised survivorship and cast participants on a ‘journey to recreate identity’. Participants navigated a ‘journey through different worlds’ as they discovered relevant and hidden communities.ConclusionsThis theory highlights virtual paths people affected by cancer can take to self-manage their experience of the disease. Online community experiences can be improved by promoting online evaluation skills and signposting visitors to bereavement support.Implications for cancer survivorsCancer survivors can benefit through both lurking and posting in online communities. However, individuals risk becoming distressed when they befriend individuals who may soon die. Additionally, people affected by rarer cancers can struggle to find shared experiences online and may need to look elsewhere for support.

Given the prominent role that smartphones have in everyday life, research in the field has proliferated. From a theoretical perspective, problematic smartphone use (PSPU) is described as a multi-faceted phenomenon entailing a variety of dysfunctional manifestations (e.g., addictive, antisocial and dangerous use). To date, however, there is still a lack of empirical evidence supporting the identification of PSPU as a potential behavioural addiction. Driven by theory, the aim of the present study was to provide an empirically validated model by testing the contribution of specific factors leading to PSPU. Relationships among individual characteristics (internalised psychopathology, impulsivity and personality traits) and PSPU uses (addictive, antisocial and dangerous) were investigated according to the updated version of the theoretical framework provided by the Pathway Model of problematic smartphone use (Billieux et al., 2015). An online survey was administered to a convenience sample (N = 511) of smartphone users in order to examine their daily engagement, problematic usage patterns and related psychological correlates. Path analysis revealed important information about different PSPU components and results are discussed in light of the available literature. Recommendations for future research are proposed to further investigate the problematic behaviour, including the study of additional variables, such as the fear of missing out (FoMO), nomophobia and excessive social media use.

Six billion people worldwide will be using smartphones in 2020 (Jonsson et al., 2017). The devices pose convenient solutions for leisure and work-related activities (Kuss, 2017). However, psychometric and addiction based guidelines increasingly align smartphone over-use with technological addictions (Billieux et al., 2014). A more holistic exploration of smartphone use might help to highlight how everyday use interacts with or underpins more addictive forms of behaviours. Thus, this study aimed to explore in-depth experiences of smartphone use to understand from a holistic perspective what the perceptions and experiences of the devices are to smartphone users, using a qualitative focus group study (n=21, 11 females). Data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. Results indicated smartphones were entwined with users' lives as they formed an 'extension of the self '. Subcategories highlighted that the devices hold value by 'externalising identity ', 'constant connectivity', 'mediating intimacy', 'authenticating experiences ', and 'forfeiting agency '. In conclusion, the usability of the smartphone may create an interactive relationship with the sense of self. Close relationships with smartphones appear to shape interpersonal relationships. Additionally, participants held an expectation that the user has agency over their actions, which is at odds with evidence of un-autonomous, compulsive behaviours. Regarding the study's public significance, this false perception of control may pose challenges for interventions which aim to reduce problematic smartphone use. Further research should contrast user perceptions using real-time smartphone data to understand the degree of true insight users have over their own behaviours.

Research on residential diversification has mainly focused on its negative impacts upon community cohesion and positive effects on intergroup relations. However, these analyses ignore how neighborhood identity can shape the consequences of diversification among residents. Elsewhere, research using the Applied Social Identity Approach (ASIA) has demonstrated the potential for neighborhood identity to provide social and psychological resources to cope with challenges. The current article proposes a novel model whereby these "Social Cure" processes can enable residents to cope with the specific challenges of diversification. We present two studies in support of this model, each from the increasingly religiously desegregated society of postconflict Northern Ireland. Analysis of the 2012 "Northern Ireland Life and Times" survey shows that across Northern Ireland, neighborhood identity impacts positively upon both well-being and intergroup attitudes via a reduction in intergroup anxiety. A second custom-designed survey of residents in a newly mixed area of Belfast shows that neighborhood identification predicts increased well-being, reduced intergroup anxiety, and reduced prejudice independently of group norms and experiences of contact. For political psychologists, our evidence suggests a reformulation of the fundamental question of "what effects do residential mixing have on neighborhoods?" to "how can neighborhood communities support residents to collectively cope with contact?" KEY WORDS: social identity, intergroup contact, residential mixing, Social Cure, intergroup anxiety bs_bs_banner