The role of childhood emotional maltreatment and body image dissatisfaction in problematic smartphone use among adolescents

Abstract

Growing empirical evidence has identified specific psychological and contextual risk factors associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, the potential direct and indirect impact of childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) on PSU remains largely unexplored, despite the established role of CEM in the onset of other excessive, problematic, and addictive behaviors. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to test the direct and indirect relationships of emotional abuse and neglect (two facets of CEM with PSU) via specific mediational pathways implying body image dissatisfaction (BID), social anxiety, and depression. The sample comprised 443 adolescent students who completed a questionnaire that included assessment tools of the aforementioned variables. Multiple mediation model results indicated that CEM was directly and indirectly associated with PSU via BID, depression, BID-related depression, and BID-related social anxiety. Results suggested that emotionally traumatic experiences were associated with PSU in adolescents and that this relationship may partially be explained by BID and psychosocial risk factors. The present study draws caution to the amplifying roles of CEM and BID on increased PSU. The results of the study have important clinical and public health implications, but additional research is needed before interventions can be developed and implemented on the basis of the present results.

Examining bi-directionality between Fear of Missing Out and problematic smartphone use. A two-wave panel study among adolescents

“…PSU is considered an inability to regulate one's use of the mobile phone and there is evidence that it might have detrimental effects on an individual's well-being (De-Sola Gutiérrez, Rodríguez de Fonseca, & Rubio, 2016). More specifically, high rates of PSU have been reported among adolescents (Haug et al, 2015;Firat et al, 2018), as well as a number of associations with indications of poor mental health including depression and anxiety, poor sleep, low self-esteem and lower levels of physical activity (Billieux, 2012;Emirtekin et al, 2019;Elhai, Dvorak, Levine, & Hall, 2017;Kara, Baytemir, & Inceman-Kara, 2019).…”

The Mediating Role of Depression in the Relationship Between Body Image Dissatisfaction and Cyberbullying Perpetration

“…Cyberbullying Offending Scale The Turkish form (Kircaburun et al, 2019) of the unidimensional COS (Patchin and Hinduja 2015) was used to assess cyberbullying perpetration (CBP) in the past month. The scale comprises nine items (e.g., "I spread rumors about someone online") on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from "never" (1), "once" (2), "a few times" (3), "several times" (4) and "many times" (5).…”

A Systematic Study on the Reliability and Validity of the Japanese Smartphone Addiction Scale among the Youth in Japan

“…Additionally, smartphone overuse has detrimental effects on health [2,14,15]; it became a concern because it can generate sleep disorder, lack of exercise, and poor academic performance [16], and is also related to mental health problems such as self-control, anxiety, depression, and dysfunctional impulsivities [17,18]. Problematic smartphone users also have multiple psychiatric symptoms [19], that is, it coexists with those symptoms. Further, excessive technology use is a maladaptive coping strategy used to deal with depressive and anxious symptoms [19].…”

“…Problematic smartphone users also have multiple psychiatric symptoms [19], that is, it coexists with those symptoms. Further, excessive technology use is a maladaptive coping strategy used to deal with depressive and anxious symptoms [19]. There is a bi-directional relationship between mental disorders (e.g., depression) and smartphone overuse [18].…”