Depression and anxiety symptoms are associated with problematic smartphone use under the COVID-19 epidemic: The mediation models

2021 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 105875
Author(s):  
Liangyi Jin ◽  
Zejun Hao ◽  
Jinzi Huang ◽  
Hafiza Rabia Akram ◽  
Muhammad Farhan Saeed ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon D. Elhai ◽  
Dmitri Rozgonjuk ◽  
Ahmad M. Alghraibeh ◽  
Jason C. Levine ◽  
Ali A. Alafnan ◽  
...  

Aside from depression and anxiety, less is known about the relationship of problematic smartphone use (PSU) to other psychopathology- related variables. The authors' aim was to test previously neglected variables in relation to PSU: rumination and excessive reassurance seeking behavior (ERSB). The authors recruited 295 college students for a web-based survey of smartphone use frequency, PSU, depression and anxiety, ruminative thinking, and ERSB. The authors tested linear regression and mediation models, assessing rumination and ERSB as mediating associations between depression/anxiety severity with PSU, adjusting for age, sex, and smartphone use frequency. Results demonstrate that ERSB was significantly related to PSU severity, and ERSB mediated the association between rumination and PSU. Furthermore, the combination of rumination and ERSB mediated relations between both depression and anxiety severity with PSU. Results provide evidence for ERSB as an important variable in understanding relationships between psychopathology symptoms and PSU severity among college students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon D. Elhai ◽  
Juanita K. Vasquez ◽  
Samuel D. Lustgarten ◽  
Jason C. Levine ◽  
Brian J. Hall

Research demonstrates that depression and anxiety symptom severity are related to problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, less is known about variables mediating these relationships. This study aimed to test whether proneness to boredom increased PSU. We also tested whether boredom proneness mediates relations between both depression and anxiety symptom severity with PSU. Using a cross-sectional design, we surveyed 298 American college students about their frequency of smartphone use, levels of PSU, depression, anxiety, and boredom proneness. Using structural equation modeling, we modeled depression and anxiety symptom severity predicting boredom proneness, in turn predicting levels of PSU and smartphone use frequency (SUF). Results demonstrate that boredom proneness predicted PSU, but not SUF. Boredom proneness mediated relations between both depression and anxiety symptom severity with PSU levels (but not usage frequency). We discuss the phenomenon in terms of depressed or anxious college students having difficulty attending to their schoolwork, subsequently experiencing boredom, and engaging in PSU to relieve their boredom.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitri Rozgonjuk ◽  
Patrik Pruunsild ◽  
Kadi Jürimäe ◽  
Rosiine-Johanna Schwarz ◽  
Jaan Aru

Studies have demonstrated that social media use, as well as problematic smartphone use (PSU), are associated with psychopathology variables, such as depression and anxiety. However, it has not been studied how Instagram use frequency is associated with depression, anxiety, and PSU. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Instagram use frequency is related to these psychopathology variables. Three hundred and five active Instagram users ( Mage = 23.61, SDage = 5.33; 82.2% female) comprised the effective sample in this study. They responded to an online survey that included questionnaires regarding their Instagram and smartphone use, as well as about experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms. We also retrieved objectively measured Instagram use data. The results showed that although Instagram use frequency, depression, and anxiety were associated with PSU in bivariate analysis, Instagram use frequency did not have indirect effects in the relations between psychopathology variables and PSU. Furthermore, while younger age and female sex predicted Instagram use frequency, these socio-demographic variables did not predict PSU. According to our findings Instagram use frequency contributes to PSU, but it is not related to depression and anxiety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 274 ◽  
pp. 576-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon D. Elhai ◽  
Haibo Yang ◽  
Dean McKay ◽  
Gordon J.G. Asmundson

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruipeng Wu ◽  
Lan Guo ◽  
Hao Rong ◽  
Jingming Shi ◽  
Wenyan Li ◽  
...  

Background: Sleep problems and eating disorders (EDs) are both serious public health concerns often seen in young adults. Yet, the underlying mechanisms for such associations are largely unknown. This study aims to examine potential serial multiple mediation effects of problematic smartphone use (PSU) and psychological distress (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms) in the relationship between sleep quality and disordered eating behaviors/attitudes (DEBs).Methods: A total of 4,325 students from two Tibet universities in China (2,657 females and 1,668 males) completed an online survey that included the following measurements: Eating Attitude Test-26 for disordered eating behaviors/attitudes, the Chinese Version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (CPSQI), Smartphone Addiction Scale—Short Version (SAS-SV) for problematic smartphone use, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for psychological distress.Results: While the direct path linking sleep quality and DEBs was not found to be significant (Standardized β = 0.006, 95% CI = −0.0667~0.0970), both PSU (Standardized β = 0.016, 95% CI = 0.0256~0.0591) and anxiety symptoms (Standardized β = 0.014, 95% CI = 0.0203~0.0526) may mediate a link between sleep quality and DEBs; serial multiple mediation analysis revealed that a serial indirect pathway of “sleep quality -> PSU -> anxiety symptoms -> DEBs” existed(Standardized β = 0.001, 95% CI = 0.0002~0.0012). Similarly, while the direct path linking sleep quality and DEBs was not found to be significant (Standardized β = 0.006, 95% CI = −0.0667~0.0970), both PSU (Standardized β = 0.020, 95% CI = 0.0337~0.0692) and depressive symptoms (Standardized β = 0.015, 95% CI = 0.0139~0.0652) may mediate a link between sleep quality and DEBs; serial multiple mediation analysis revealed that a serial indirect pathway of “sleep quality -> PSU -> depressive symptoms -> DEBs” existed (Standardized β = 0.001, 95% CI = 0.0006~0.0038).Conclusions: Psychological and behavioral factors may comprehensively work together, leading to flow-on effects from sleep problems to disordered eating behaviors among university students. Appropriate interventions that target problematic smartphone use could thus potentially reduce anxiety and depression levels, which in turn will provide a buffer against the negative impact of poor sleep quality on eating disorder symptoms.


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