The relationships between smartphone distraction, problematic smartphone use and mental health issues amongst a Chinese sample

Yang, Z, Yan, Z and Hussain, Z ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7678-6615, 2022. The relationships between smartphone distraction, problematic smartphone use and mental health issues amongst a Chinese sample. The Social Science Journal. ISSN 0362-3319

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Abstract

Smartphone distraction (SD) has been reported as an important factor associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU). The present study explored the relationship between SD, PSU, and mental health problems using the newly developed Smartphone distraction Scale (SDS). A total of three hundred and twenty smartphone users (Mage = 20.30, SD = 1.67) completed a questionnaire that comprised psychometric scales for the aforementioned variables. Results showed that SD was significantly correlated with PSU, anxiety, depression and stress. PSU fully mediated the relationships from SD to anxiety and depression. PSU partially mediated the relationship between SD and stress. The four-factor SDS was reliable and obtained good model fit in confirmatory factor analysis. This study suggests that being distracted by smartphone use can be associated with mental health issues while the level of PSU might be the bridge of this link. The present study is one of very few studies to examine SD in China, which aimed to investigate the relationships between SD, PSU and mental health issues (stress, anxiety and depression), and adopt the newly developed SDS in the Chinese context. Further studies are needed to explore the complex mechanism between SD and mental health.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	The Social Science Journal
Creators:	Yang, Z., Yan, Z. and Hussain, Z.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Date:	31 May 2022
ISSN:	0362-3319
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/03623319.2022.2066880 DOI 1551778 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	14 Jun 2022 08:40
Last Modified:	30 Nov 2023 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46440

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