An Exploration of Problematic Smartphone Use among Chinese University Students: Associations with Academic Anxiety, Academic Procrastination, Self-Regulation and Subjective Wellbeing

Abstract

Over the past decade, there have been an increasing number of studies that have investigated problematic and/or 'addictive' smartphone use. The present study explored the prevalence and correlates of problematic smartphone use (PSU) among Chinese university students. Few studies have investigated relationships between PSU and factors such as academic anxiety, academic procrastination, self-regulation, and subjective wellbeing. The present study proposed and tested a hypothetical model of relationships between PSU and these factors. A total of 475 Chinese university students completed a paper-based survey during class breaks. The survey comprised a battery of psychometric scales translated into Chinese translations examining the study variables (i.e., academic anxiety, academic procrastination, self-regulation, life satisfaction, and PSU). Path analysis was applied to test the hypothetical model. A good model fit was found (CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.008), in which PSU predicted academic procrastination (β = 0.21, p < 0.001) and academic anxiety (β = 0.18, p < 0.01). Also, self-regulation predicted PSU (β = − 0.35, p < 0.001), academic anxiety (β = − 0.29, p < 0.001), academic procrastination (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and life satisfaction (β = 0.23, p < 0.001). PSU mediated the relationships between self-regulation, and both academic anxiety and academic procrastination. The present study enhances our understanding of the role of problematic smartphone use in relation to academic behaviour, mental health and wellbeing of college students.Keywords Problematic smartphone use . Smartphone addiction . Academic anxiety . Academic procrastination . Self-regulation . Life satisfaction 2015a;Carbonell et al. 2012;Hussain et al. 2017;Lopez-Fernandez et al. 2017). Several symptoms of problematic smartphone use have been identified including excessive reassurance behaviours (e.g. constantly checking for new messages) and use in inappropriate situations such as using smartphones while driving (Billieux et al. 2015a). Furthermore, evidence suggests that problematic smartphone use may be a particular problem in China. For instance, Long et al. (2016) found that the prevalence of problematic smartphone use among undergraduates (n = 1062) in Mainland China (21.3%) was higher than in similar samples in other Asian regions such as South Korea (11.4%) and Taiwan (16.4 to 16.7%). All of these studies used the same instrument (Problematic Cellular Phone Use Questionnaire, PCPUQ, Yen et al. 2009) and the same diagnostic criteria. Explanations for this observed difference remain unclear. Also, several recent Chinese studies have found college students' smartphone use to be associated with poor psychological wellbeing, anxiety and loneliness (Bian and Leung 2015;Huang et al. 2013;Long et al. 2016). Thus, it appears important to investigate whether problematic smartphone use is particularly prevalent among Chinese college students and whether it is associated with negative psychological outcomes for them. The present study was designed...

Self-Esteem and Problematic Smartphone Use Among Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Depression and Interpersonal Trust

“…Other studies found that PSU damaged adolescents' psychological and social functions (Yen et al, 2009), and it led to behavioral problems, such as aggression and smoking (Augner and Hacker, 2012). Furthermore, PSU might be associated with concentration difficulties (Söderqvist et al, 2008) and poor academic performance (Hawi and Samaha, 2016;Samaha and Hawi, 2016;Yang et al, 2019).…”

“A Cancer in the Minds of Youth?” A Qualitative Study of Problematic Smartphone Use among Undergraduate Students

“…It is likely that the causes and consequences of PSU are complicated. A number of studies in different contexts have found that PSU is associated with poor well-being and other mental health issues (Dayapoglu et al 2016;Hong et al 2012;Leung 2008;Long et al 2016;Yang et al 2019a). For example, excessive smartphone use has been found to predict anxiety (Lepp et al 2014).…”

Avaliando o papel da procrastinação acadêmica e bem-estar subjetivo na predição da satisfação com o programa de pós-graduação

“…A procrastinação é uma prática comum (Yockey, 2016), definida como o ato de adiar a realização de atividades de forma deliberada ou não (Kim, Fernandez, & Terrier, 2017). Pesquisas tem se dedicado a estudar as diferentes conotações que a procrastinação pode apresentar, ora centrando-se nos aspectos funcionais (e.g., buscar por desenvolver tarefas da melhor maneira possível; Chu & Choi, 2005;Schraw, Wadkins, & Olafson, 2007), ora nos não funcionais (e.g., dificuldade de finalização de tarefas por alto grau de exigencia; Abramowski, 2018;Yang, Asbury, & Griffiths, 2018). No contexto acadêmico, sua influência se mostra mais acentuada, por exemplo, Balkis e Duru (2016) afirmam que 80-90% dos estudantes universitários adiam seus deveres acadêmicos, tornando-se um fenômeno crescente onde estudantes classificados como procrastinadores tendem a apresentar desempenho menor quando comparados a acadêmicos "não procrastinadores" (Closson & Boutilier, 2017).…”

“…De acordo com Balkis (2013), a procrastinação acadêmica é dinâmica, relacionando-se a características pessoais, ambientais e comportamentais. Além disso, sua ocorrência tem sido relacionada a grades curriculares muito extensas, à redução do estado de bem-estar, aos altos níveis de estresse, apresentando-se como um preditor negativo da realização acadêmica e do bem-estar subjetivo (McCloskey, 2011;Steel & Klingsieck, 2016;Yang et al, 2018).…”