Stress and Problematic Smartphone Use Severity: Smartphone Use Frequency and Fear of Missing Out as Mediators
Yang H, Liu B, Fang J
Frontiers in psychiatry · 37 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- Major Program of National Fund of Philosophy and Social Science of China
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2021-06-01 · Front Psychiatry · vol. 12 · p. 659288
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Cited
- 89 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 22.2× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 61 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour · Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Keywords
- smartphone addiction, stress, fear of missing out, mediation, gender differences, undergraduate students, Chinese students
3 authors
From CN
- Haibo Yang · correspondingTianjin Normal University
- Bingjie LiuEast China Normal University
- Jianwen FangTianjin Normal University
Abstract
Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been linked with stress. Higher levels of stress likely increased problematic smartphone use. We investigated relations between stress, fear of missing out, and problematic smartphone use. The aim of the current study was to analyze the mediating role of fear of missing out (FOMO) and smartphone use frequency (SUF) between stress and PSU. We surveyed a broad sample of 2,276 Chinese undergraduate students in July 2019, using the FOMO Scale, Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, Smartphone Use Frequency Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. The results showed that stress was associated with PSU severity. Gender differences were found in PSU severity. Furthermore, FOMO was positively associated with SUF and PSU severity. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that FOMO acted as a mediator between stress and PSU severity. FOMO and SUF acted as a chain of mediators between stress and PSU severity. SUF did not account for relations between stress and PSU severity. The study indicates that FOMO may be an important variable accounting for why some people with increased stress levels may overuse their smartphones.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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