Trait Mindfulness and Problematic Smartphone Use in Chinese Early Adolescent: The Multiple Mediating Roles of Negative Affectivity and Fear of Missing Out.
Yuchang Jin, Wen Xiong, Xinyun Liu, Junxiu An
Behavioral Sciences March 3, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/bs13030222 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 517 |
| Population | Middle school students in China (46.03% males, mean age 13.81 years, SD 1.40) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Negative affectivity Trait mindfulness Problematic smartphone use |
| Key findings | Mindfulness significantly and negatively predicted problematic smartphone use. FoMO mediated this relationship, and negative affectivity mediated it through depression and anxiety but not loneliness. Negative affectivity and FoMO, and depression, anxiety, and loneliness with FoMO, played chain-mediating roles between mindfulness and problematic smartphone use. |
Abstract
This study used a cross-sectional study design to investigate whether the mindfulness trait was a protective factor against problematic smartphone use (PSPU) of early adolescents, and whether negative affectivity and fear of missing out (FoMO) mediated this relationship. The study selected a sample of middle school students (N = 517, 46.03% males, Mage = 13.81, SD = 1.40) in China. The results of the structural equation modelling indicated that (a) mindfulness significantly and negatively predicted PSPU, (b) FoMO played a mediating role between mindfulness and PSPU, (c) negative affectivity (including depression and anxiety) played a mediating role between mindfulness and PSPU, but loneliness did not, and (d) negative affectivity and FoMO played a chain-mediated role, and depression, anxiety, and loneliness played a chain-mediated role with FoMO between mindfulness and PSPU. We discuss the possibility that high levels of mindfulness in early adolescents may reduce the short-term effects of problematic smartphone use by reducing negative emotions and FoMO and relate our results to an emphasis on the role of enhanced mindfulness in long-term internal self-regulation and well-being. Findings have implications for individuals and schools for PSPU prevention and intervention.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- The relationship between trait mindfulness and problematic smartphone use: the serial mediation role of difficulties with emotion regulation and fear of missing out. Psychology, Health & Medicine September 8, 2026
- Effectiveness of brief online mindfulness-based intervention on different types of mobile phone addiction: mechanisms of influence of trait mindfulness Frontiers in Psychology February 17, 2025
Cites 11
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- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
and 6 more in the library