Fear Of Missing Out, Need For Touch, Anxiety And Depression Are Related To Problematic Smartphone Use

Keywords

Addictions; Information technology; Internet addiction; Mental disorders; Mobile phones; Psychopathology

Abstract

Problematic smartphone use is an important public health challenge and is linked with poor mental health outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanisms that maintain this behavior. We recruited a sample of 308 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk labor market. Participants responded to standardized measures of problematic smartphone use, and frequency of smartphone use, depression and anxiety and possible mechanisms including behavioral activation, need for touch, fear of missing out (FoMO), and emotion regulation. Problematic smartphone use was most correlated with anxiety, need for touch and FoMO. The frequency of use was most correlated (inversely) with depression. In regression models, problematic smartphone use was associated with FoMO, depression (inversely), anxiety, and need for touch. Frequency of use was associated with need for touch, and (inversely) with depressive symptoms. Behavioral activation mediated associations between smartphone use (both problematic and usage frequency) and depression and anxiety symptoms. Emotional suppression also mediated the association between problematic smartphone use and anxiety. Results demonstrate the importance of social and tactile need fulfillment variables such as FoMO and need for touch as critical mechanisms that can explain problematic smartphone use and its association with depression and anxiety.

Publication Date

10-1-2016

Publication Title

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume

63

Number of Pages

509-516

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.079

Socpus ID

84971595592 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84971595592

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