Understanding juveniles’ problematic smartphone use and related influencing factors: A network perspective

Abstract

Background and aimsTo understand the interaction between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and related influencing factors (individual variables, family environment, and school environment) and to determine the most influential factors affecting the use of smartphones by juveniles to implement effective interventions in the future.MethodsA total of 3,442 children and adolescents (3,248 actual participants (males = 1,638, average age = 12.27 ± 2.36)) were included in the study. This study measured juveniles’ PSU and its influencing factors: individual variables (4 factors), family environments (13 factors), and school environments (5 factors). This study employed a network analysis approach for data assessment.ResultsThis study found that there were several central influencing factors (such as self-control ability, loss of control, parent-child relationship, and peer attitudes towards smartphone use) and bridge factors (such as peer attitudes towards smartphone use, peer pressure for smartphone use, and fear of missing out).Discussion and conclusionsJuveniles’ PSU included several core symptoms and critical influencing factors. Intervention based on these factors may be effective, timely, and inexpensive.

Trajectory of problematic smartphone use among adolescents aged 10–18 years: The roles of childhood family environment and concurrent parent–child relationships

“…The social skill model of problematic internet use suggests that individuals with social skill defects and poor offline interpersonal relationships may have a preference for online social interactions and use ICT to meet their needs of relatedness, which may lead to uncontrolled ICT use, problematic ICT use and other negative results (Caplan, 2003(Caplan, , 2010. The negative correlation between the parent-child relationship and PSU has also been confirmed in empirical studies (Huang et al, 2021;Xie, Chen, Zhu, & He, 2019;Zhang et al, 2021).…”

“…Some researchers have argued that PSU shares many similarities with behavioral addictions, such as gambling and internet game disorders (Felt & Robb, 2016). Previous studies have found positive associations between PSU and symptom severity of anxiety and depression in adolescents Lapierre, Zhao, & Custer, 2019;Sohn, Rees, Wildridge, Kalk, & Carter, 2019;Thomée, 2018;Yang et al, 2021) and negatively correlated with academic achievement and interpersonal relationships (Herrero, Urueña, Torres, & Hidalgo, 2019;Huang, Lai, Li, Luo, & Wang, 2021;Samaha & Hawi, 2016;Zhang et al, 2021). Thus, it is important to explore the development of PSU, identify the reasons adolescents become overdependent on smartphones, and find appropriate ways to resolve the problem.…”

Understanding the Association Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Problematic Smartphone Use: A Network Analysis

“…This drawback has been demonstrated by several recent studies. For instance, individual PSU symptoms have shown different associations with self-control ( 21 ), problematic internet use ( 22 ) and neuroticism ( 23 ). Meanwhile, different components of IU were found to have distinct effects on generalized anxiety disorder ( 24 ).…”

Do the core symptoms play key roles in the development of problematic smartphone use symptoms

“…In network analysis, researchers usually renamed each item with a specific symptom ( 4 , 15 , 23 ). It is important to reduce redundancy in the network since redundancy may lead to inaccurate estimates ( 27 , 34 ).…”

“…Except for the core symptoms of PSU, some researchers have begun to focus on the relationships between inner PSU symptoms and outer various elements like personality and family environments. For example, Wei et al ( 24 ) examined the relationship between neuroticism and PSU symptoms, Li et al ( 25 ) explored the relationships between fear of missing out, PSU symptoms, and symptoms of problematic social network site use, and Huang et al ( 15 ) explored the relationships between PSU symptoms and their influences such as personal characteristics, family environment, and school environment. Based on these, researchers argued that intervention focusing on these core symptoms or components of PSU and related core influences would be effective and economic ( 4 , 15 , 24 , 25 ).…”