Mindfulness and Smartphone Addiction in University Students: The Role of Anxiety and Attentional Control.
Çiğdem Gülden
Journal of prevention (2022) October 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s10935-026-00962-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 319 |
| Population | University students (college students) in emerging adulthood, 237 females and 82 males, average age 21.38 years (SD = 1.84, range 18-29) |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation Addiction |
| Keywords | Allostatic load Attentional control theory Smartphone addiction |
| Key findings | Mindfulness was negatively correlated with smartphone addiction, but in structural equation modeling the direct association lost significance once anxiety and attentional control were included as mediators, while the total indirect effect and total effect remained significant. The authors suggest attentional control and mindfulness may be associated with lower levels of smartphone addiction. |
Abstract
This study focuses on the emerging adulthood developmental stage, considered a critical period for addressing maladaptive digital behaviors. From the perspective of allostatic load, anxiety has been addressed as a stress-related psychological variable, whereas mindfulness has been examined as a factor associated with reduced vulnerability to stress-related processes. The present study examined the association between mindfulness and smartphone addiction through anxiety and attentional control. Accordingly, controlling for age, gender, daily smartphone usage, and smartphone checking frequency, a serial mediation model was used to examine the associations between mindfulness, anxiety, self-reported attentional control, and smartphone addiction among university students. A total of 319 college students (237 females [74.3%] and 82 males [25.7%]) with an average age of 21.38 years (SD = 1.84, 18-29 years). The study findings revealed that a significant negative association was found between mindfulness and smartphone addiction in the pairwise correlation analysis. However, structural equation modeling results showed that the direct association between mindfulness and smartphone addiction lost its significance when anxiety and attentional control mediating variables were included in the model. Indeed, the total indirect effect and the total effect remained significant. The association between mindfulness and smartphone addiction was statistically accounted for by significant indirect pathways through anxiety and attentional control in the specified model. These findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional and self-report nature of the data. In addition, the findings should be interpreted with caution, as the sample constitutes a convenience sample recruited via social media. The present study findings are consistent with a risk and protective factor perspective, suggesting that attentional control and mindfulness may be associated with lower levels of smartphone addiction.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| The Role of Mindfulness and Psychological Flexibility in Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, and General Psychological Distress in a Nonclinical College Sample Ethnically diverse, nonclinical sample of college undergraduates (76% female) | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional survey | n = 494 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Improving stress management, anxiety, and mental well-being in medical students through an online Mindfulness-Based Intervention: a randomized study. Scientific Reports May 22, 2023
- The Effects of Mindfulness‐Based Intervention on Cognitive Functions in Tertiary Students: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis Applied Cognitive Psychology May 1, 2025
- How do mindfulness-based programmes improve anxiety, depression and psychological distress? A systematic review Current Psychology April 1, 2023
and 1 more in the library