Depression and anxiety symptoms are related to problematic smartphone use severity in Chinese young adults: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Jon D Elhai; Haibo Yang; Jianwen Fang; Xuejun Bai; Brian J Hall

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.020

Depression and anxiety symptoms are related to problematic smartphone use severity in Chinese young adults: Fear of missing out as a mediator

Addict Behav. 2020 Feb:101:105962. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.020. Epub 2019 Apr 20.

Authors

Jon D Elhai¹, Haibo Yang², Jianwen Fang³, Xuejun Bai³, Brian J Hall⁴

Affiliations

¹ Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, No. 57-1 Wujiayao Street, Hexi District, Tianjin 300074, China; Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft Street, Toledo, OH 43606, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, 3000 Arlington Ave., Toledo, OH 43614, USA.
² Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, No. 57-1 Wujiayao Street, Hexi District, Tianjin 300074, China. Electronic address: yanghaibo@tjnu.edu.cn.
³ Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, No. 57-1 Wujiayao Street, Hexi District, Tianjin 300074, China.
⁴ Global and Community Mental Health Research Group, Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences Building, E21-3040, University of Macau, Av. da Universidade, Taipa, Macao (SAR), China; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

PMID: 31030950
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.020

Abstract

Introduction: Recently studies examined mediating psychological constructs accounting for relations between both depression and anxiety with problematic smartphone use (PSU) severity. The aim of the current study was to analyze the fear of missing out (FOMO) as a possible mediator in these relationships.

Method: We recruited 1034 Chinese undergraduate students via a web-based survey that measured smartphone use frequency, PSU, depression, anxiety and FOMO.

Results: Structural equation modeling demonstrated that FOMO was significantly related to smartphone use frequency and PSU severity. FOMO significantly mediated relations between anxiety and both smartphone use frequency and PSU severity. FOMO did not account for relations between depression and smartphone use/PSU.

Conclusion: This is one of the first studies testing FOMO in relation to PSU severity among Asian participants. FOMO may be an important variable accounting for why some types of psychopathology (e.g., anxiety) are associated with PSU.

Keywords: Fear of missing out; Internet addiction; Problematic smartphone use.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology*
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
China
Comorbidity
Depressive Disorder / epidemiology*
Depressive Disorder / psychology
Fear / psychology*
Female
Humans
Internet Addiction Disorder / epidemiology*
Internet Addiction Disorder / psychology
Male
Severity of Illness Index
Social Behavior*
Students / psychology
Students / statistics & numerical data
Young Adult