Are Cyberchondria and Intolerance of Uncertainty Related to Smartphone Addiction?

Abstract

Smartphones are a medium for performing online activities, and one such activity could be the compulsive online health information search — cyberchondria. This study aimed to test whether cyberchondria and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) positively predict smartphone addiction (SA), adjusted for age, gender, daily use duration, the reason for using smartphones, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The sample consisted of 471 adults (55.2% women) from the general population without chronic diseases (Mage = 38.67). Regression analysis showed that IU was a positive predictor of SA (β = .17, p < .001), as well as cyberchondria (β = .14, p < .001), which had a unique contribution to the explanation of SA, relative to IU. Other significant predictors were average daily smartphone use and entertainment use, the latter being the strongest predictor in the model. These results revealed cyberchondria as a unique predictor of SA.

A moderated chain mediation model examining the relation between smartphone addiction and intolerance of uncertainty among master's and PhD students

“…Another study [ 86 ] found that intolerance of uncertainty strongly predicts problematic smartphone use a month later. Both high intolerance of uncertainty and cyberchondria have been found to predict SPA [ 26 ]. Moreover, the emotional response to uncertainty is the key reason SPA results from intolerance of uncertainty [ 87 ].…”

“…Researchers found that a person's intolerance of uncertainty mediated the relationship between their capacity to control their emotions and their fear of being unable to use their smartphone [ 25 ]. People who have a strong aversion to uncertainty and engage in excessive usage of smartphones may develop SPA, especially if they also have cyberchondria [ 26 ].…”