Depression and social anxiety in relation to problematic smartphone use

Abstract

Purpose Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored transdiagnostic psychopathology constructs as mediators that may account for these relationships. The purpose of this paper is to test rumination as a possible transdiagnostic (cross-sectional) mediator in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach The authors recruited 296 college students to complete relevant web survey measures, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (for depression severity), social interaction anxiety scale (for social anxiety severity), ruminative thought styles questionnaire, smartphone addiction scale-short version (to measure levels of problematic smartphone use), and a measure of smartphone use frequency. Findings The authors found support for a structural model whereby the severity of depression and social anxiety accounted for variance in rumination, which, in turn, correlated with problematic smartphone use levels. Rumination accounted for relations between both depression and social anxiety severity with levels of problematic use. Originality/value The authors discuss the role of rumination as a possible mechanism between anxiety- and depression-related psychopathology levels with problematic smartphone use severity. This study is unique in exploring rumination in the context of problematic smartphone use.

Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Body Image Dissatisfaction

“…Various types of psychological factors may account for the relationships observed in the present study. For instance, it has been shown that ruminative thinking mediates the relationship between psychopathological symptoms and addictive use of smartphones, which are heavily used for social networking (Elhai et al 2018). Another psychological process that may mediate the associations observed is impulsivity, which has been implicated with PSMU (Rothen et al 2018) and with many excessive and addictive-like behaviors (e.g., buying) that can also be used to cope with negative emotions and affect (Lucas and Koff 2017;Kuss and Griffiths 2017).…”

Identifying Factors Preventing Sustainable Brand Loyalty among Consumers: A Mixed Methods Approach

“…Likewise, those who worry about smartphone use are less likely to continue the service [27]. Anxiety could also lead to problematic use [28] and protective behavior [29].…”

“…Likewise, those who worry about smartphone use are less likely to continue the service [27]. Anxiety could also lead to problematic use [28] and protective behavior [29]. However, a study by Xu [25] showed that website anxiety had no influence on an individual's intention to return to a website.…”

Fear of missing out (FoMO) and rumination mediate relations between social anxiety and problematic Facebook use

“…In fact, Feinstein et al (2013) found that negative social comparison on Facebook predicts increased rumination, which in turn related to depressive symptoms. Rumination has also been linked with problematic use of other technology, including smartphones, with rumination serving as a mediator between depression and anxiety with PSU ( Elhai, Tiamiyu, & Weeks, 2018 ). As with FoMO, because of rumination's relevance to social relationships, rumination could also be an important mechanism explaining associations between psychopathology and problematic SNS use.…”