BackgroundWith the popularity of mobile phones, problematic mobile phone use is getting increasing attention in recent years. Although self-control was found to be a critical predictor of problematic mobile phone use, no study has ever explored the association between self-control and mobile phone use patterns as well as the possible pathway how self-control affects problematic mobile phone use.MethodsFour hundred sixty-eight college students were randomly selected in this study. Data were collected using the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale, the Self-Control Scale, and the Mobile Phone Use Pattern Questionnaire. Statistical tests were conducted to identify the potential role of mobile phone use patterns in the association between self-control and problematic mobile phone use.ResultsIn this sample, female students displayed significant higher mobile phone dependence than males. Self-control was negatively correlated with interpersonal, transaction and entertainment mobile phone use patterns, but positively correlated with information seeking use pattern. Self-control could predict problematic mobile phone use directly and indirectly via interpersonal and transaction patterns.ConclusionsOur research provided additional evidence for the negative association between self-control and problematic mobile phone use. Moreover, interpersonal and transaction use patterns played a mediating role in this link.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1131-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundUntil now, most research in the prevalence of compulsive buying (CB) has been developed from samples in western developed countries, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence and co-morbidities of CB, problematic Internet use (PIU) and problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) in college students in Yantai, China. Moreover, based on the lack of research focusing on differences between CB and addiction, we will explore whether CB and PIU/PMPU individuals are characterized by the same self-traits (i. e., self-control, self-esteem and self-efficacy) related profile.MethodsA total of 601 college students were involved in this cross-sectional study. Compulsive buying, problematic Internet and mobile phone use and self-traits were assessed by self-reported questionnaires. The demographic information and use characteristics were included in the questionnaires.ResultsThe incidence of CB, PIU and PMPU were 5.99, 27.8 and 8.99% respectively. In addition, compared with rural students, students from cities are more likely to get involved in CB. Students using mobile phone to surf the Internet displayed higher risk of PIU than counterparts using computer. Students using Internet or mobile phone longer are more prone to problematic use. Furthermore, we found the strong correlations and high co-morbidities of CB, PIU and PMPU and self-control was the most significant predictor for all three disorders. However, self-esteem and self-efficacy were significant predictors only for CB.ConclusionsOur findings indicated that with the prevalence of CB and PMPU roughly equivalent to that demonstrated in previous studies, PIU in Chinese college students is serious and deserves more attention. Furthermore, besides the impulsive aspect common with addiction, CB is also driven by painful self-awareness derived from low self-regard which implies the obsessive-compulsive aspect.

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Conditioned place avoidance (CPA) paradigm has been used to investigate the affective component of pain. Although the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been demonstrated to play an important role in the affective aspect of pain, whether the other prefrontal subdivisions are involved in pain-related aversion is unknown. The present study investigated the role of the prelimbic cortex (PL) and infralimbic cortex (IL) in the acquisition and expression of formalin-induced CPA (F-CPA) in rats. GABAA receptor agonist muscimol was bilaterally microinjected into PL/IL before or after the formalin-paired training, to explore the effect of temporary inactivation of PL/IL on the acquisition and expression of F-CPA, respectively. The results showed that inactivation of PL rather than IL impaired the acquisition and expression of F-CPA. Moreover, the PL inactivation did not block the acquisition of LiCl-induced CPA, suggesting that PL may be specifically implicated in the pain-emotion related encoding. These results indicate that PL but not IL is involved in the aversive dimension of pain.