Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2025)
IJER 2025, 4(2): 1-11 |
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Mansobi M, Parandin S. (2025). Problematic Smartphone Use and Adolescent Depression Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Emotional Dysregulation (A Correlational Study). IJER. 4(2), 1-11.
URL: http://ijer.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-458-en.html
URL: http://ijer.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-458-en.html
1- Department of psychology, IsG.C., Islamic Azad University, Islamabad Gharb, Iran.
2- Department of psychology, IsG.C., Islamic Azad University, Islamabad Gharb, Iran. ,shima.parandin@iau.ac.ir
2- Department of psychology, IsG.C., Islamic Azad University, Islamabad Gharb, Iran. ,
Abstract: (1133 Views)
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and depressive symptoms in adolescents, with a focus on the mediating role of emotional dysregulation.
Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. The statistical population consisted of middle and high school students aged 12–18 years in one Iranian province. Using multistage cluster sampling, 320 students (M_age = 15.4, SD = 1.7) were selected. Instruments included the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (SAS-SV), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–16 (DERS-16), and the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9). Validated Persian versions of all instruments were used. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk test for normality, Pearson’s correlation, hierarchical regression (controlling for age and gender), and mediation analysis using PROCESS (Model 4) with 5000 bootstrap samples.
Results: Significant positive correlations were observed among variables: PSU–depression (r = .41), PSU–emotional dysregulation (r = .48), and emotional dysregulation–depression (r = .55), all p < .001. Hierarchical regression showed R² increased from .05 (age, gender) to .17 with PSU and to .39 with emotional dysregulation (ΔR² = .12 and .22; both p < .001). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of PSU on depression via emotional dysregulation (ab = .12; 95% CI [.09, .16]). Since the direct effect remained significant (c′ = .12), partial mediation was supported (VAF ≈ 50%).
Conclusions: The findings highlight emotional dysregulation as a key mechanism linking problematic smartphone use to depressive symptoms in adolescents. While part of the effect of PSU on depression is direct, enhancing emotion regulation skills may serve as an effective school-based intervention strategy to mitigate the adverse psychological consequences of problematic smartphone use.
Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. The statistical population consisted of middle and high school students aged 12–18 years in one Iranian province. Using multistage cluster sampling, 320 students (M_age = 15.4, SD = 1.7) were selected. Instruments included the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (SAS-SV), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale–16 (DERS-16), and the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9). Validated Persian versions of all instruments were used. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk test for normality, Pearson’s correlation, hierarchical regression (controlling for age and gender), and mediation analysis using PROCESS (Model 4) with 5000 bootstrap samples.
Results: Significant positive correlations were observed among variables: PSU–depression (r = .41), PSU–emotional dysregulation (r = .48), and emotional dysregulation–depression (r = .55), all p < .001. Hierarchical regression showed R² increased from .05 (age, gender) to .17 with PSU and to .39 with emotional dysregulation (ΔR² = .12 and .22; both p < .001). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of PSU on depression via emotional dysregulation (ab = .12; 95% CI [.09, .16]). Since the direct effect remained significant (c′ = .12), partial mediation was supported (VAF ≈ 50%).
Conclusions: The findings highlight emotional dysregulation as a key mechanism linking problematic smartphone use to depressive symptoms in adolescents. While part of the effect of PSU on depression is direct, enhancing emotion regulation skills may serve as an effective school-based intervention strategy to mitigate the adverse psychological consequences of problematic smartphone use.
Type of Study: Original |
Subject:
Educational Studies
Received: 2025/01/10 | Accepted: 2025/03/21 | Published: 2025/06/1
Received: 2025/01/10 | Accepted: 2025/03/21 | Published: 2025/06/1
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