The influence of depressive symptoms and fear of missing out on severity of problematic smartphone use and Internet gaming disorder among Chinese young adults: A three-wave mediation model

Yuan, Guangzhe; Elhai, Jon D.; Hall, Brian J.

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106648

Cited by 115 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…We acknowledge the cross‐sectional nature of our research design prevents us from inferring causal relationships among our study variables. Repeated measures/longitudinal work could clarify the temporal nature of associations (Elhai, Rozgonjuk, Liu, & Yang, 2020; Yuan et al, 2021). Additionally, we relied on self‐report measures, while objective behavioral assessment of PSU and GD would be more accurate (Ryding & Kuss, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I‐PACE conceptualizes affective/cognitive responses (e.g., FOMO) as mechanisms explaining associations between background variables and PIU (Brand et al, 2016; Brand et al, 2019). Recent work predating the current pandemic showed that FOMO mediated relations between negative affectivity (depression/anxiety) and levels of problematic smartphone and social networking use (Dempsey et al, 2019; Elhai, Yang, Fang, Bai, & Hall, 2020; Wang et al, 2019; Yuan, Elhai, & Hall, 2021). Therefore, we hypothesized the following:Hypothesis FOMO should mediate relations between health anxiety and both GD and PSU severity .…”

Section: Aimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health anxiety related to problematic smartphone use and gaming disorder severity during COVID ‐19: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Elhai

McKay

Yang

et al. 2020

Human Behav and Emerg Tech

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Health anxiety has been linked with fear and anxiety regarding COVID‐19. Higher levels of health anxiety likely increased social distancing and self‐isolating during the pandemic. We investigated relations among health anxiety, fear of missing out (FOMO) on rewarding social experiences from social distancing, and consequential levels of problematic smartphone use (PSU) and gaming disorder (GD). We surveyed a broad sample of 812 U.S. and Canadian participants during the pandemic, in late‐May 2020, using the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, FOMO Scale, Smartphone Addiction Scale‐Short Version, and GD test. Significant bivariate relationships were found among health anxiety, FOMO, PSU, and GD severity. Using structural equation modeling, FOMO mediated relations between health anxiety and both PSU and GD severity. We discuss FOMO as an important variable explaining problematic digital technology use to compensate for unmet social needs from social distancing. We discuss these findings within the context of the Interaction of Person‐Affect‐Cognition‐Execution theoretical model of problematic internet use. Results offer novel insight into the role of health anxiety on FOMO from unmet social needs during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and consequential problematic internet use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health anxiety related to problematic smartphone use and gaming disorder severity during COVID ‐19: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Elhai

McKay

Yang

et al. 2020

Human Behav and Emerg Tech

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“…Smartphone distraction (SD) may be caused by external triggers, such as notifications, intrusive thoughts, or cognitive salience of smartphone-related content to avoid or regulate emotions (26,(46)(47)(48). Fear of missing out (FOMO: missing out on positive recreational experiences of others) appears to be a main driver for several forms of problematic technology use (49), including smartphone use (50) currently exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic and social isolation (51) and driving attentional bias and distraction from online content to fulfill control needs (52).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Dimensions of Smartphone Distraction: Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

et al. 2021

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Background: Distraction is a functional emotion regulation strategy utilized to relieve emotional distress. Within the attention economy perspective, distraction is increasingly associated with digital technology use, performance impairments and interference with higher-order cognitive processes. Research on smartphone distraction and its association with problematic smartphone use is still scarce and there is no available psychometric assessment tool to assess this cognitive and emotive process parsimoniously.Method: The present study reports the development and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity, gender invariance, and latent mean differences. The study was conducted in a sample of British university students (N = 1,001; M = 21.10 years, SD = 2.77).Results: The 16-item SDS was best conceptualized in a four-factor model solution comprising attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, emotion regulation, and multitasking. Construct validity was established using relevant psychosocial and mental health measures, with SDS scores being moderately associated with deficient self-regulation and problematic social media use. Gender measurement invariance was achieved at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, and latent mean differences indicated that females had significantly higher means than males across all four SDS latent factors.Discussion: The SDS presents with several strengths, including its theoretical grounding, relatively short length, and sound psychometric properties. The SDS enables the assessment of distraction, which appears to be one of the pathways to problematic smartphone use facilitating overuse and overreliance on smartphones for emotion regulation processes. The assessment of distraction in relation to problematic use in vulnerable populations may facilitate interventions that could encourage metacognition and benefit these groups by allowing sustained productivity in an increasingly disrupted work and social environment.

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“…What is more, this trend seems to have increased over the last decade [39]. The causes behind maladaptive smartphone use are-to some degree-mediated by individuals' fear of being left out of their social network or missing important information if they are not constantly connected [61][62][63]. For this reason, young people feel an urgent need to check their phones constantly, and experience serious difficulties when it comes to silencing or turning their phones off when required [26].…”

Section: Problematic Smartphone Use Among University Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic Smartphone Use in Spanish and Italian University Students

2020

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Sustainable education requires the proper usage of technological devices. Among these is the smartphone, which is used by millions of young people around the world in today’s society. The objective of this study was to understand the smartphone usage profile of Spanish and Italian university students. It also aimed to identify possible problematic uses, and the differences in smartphone use (or abuse) between the participating subjects. The study was descriptive and comparative, with the intentional sampling of N = 1412 subjects studying at the education faculties of the University of Alicante (UA) and the Suor Orsola Benincasa University (UNISOB). A previously-validated questionnaire with 27 items was employed during the 2019–20 academic year. The data was analysed using the SPSS 25 programme. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out. The results obtained after the analysis of the data indicated that, of the four possible user types—occasional, habitual, at risk, and problematic—more than half of the sample identified themselves as habitual users. It can be concluded that there are significant differences between the universities: the UA students exhibited more problematic use than the UNISOB students. It is therefore necessary to prepare training programmes that are designed to avert problematic behaviours related to smartphone use.

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The influence of depressive symptoms and fear of missing out on severity of problematic smartphone use and Internet gaming disorder among Chinese young adults: A three-wave mediation model

Cited by 115 publications

References 84 publications

Health anxiety related to problematic smartphone use and gaming disorder severity during COVID ‐19: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Health anxiety related to problematic smartphone use and gaming disorder severity during COVID ‐19: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Exploring the Dimensions of Smartphone Distraction: Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

Problematic Smartphone Use in Spanish and Italian University Students

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