The Mediating Role of Rumination and Emotion Regulation on the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Problematic Smartphone Use Among Adolescents

Smartphones have become the most commonly used Internet tool for young people. This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived stress and problematic smartphone use, as well as the mediating role of rumination and emotion regulation. 500 middle school students participated. This study employed random sampling method. SPSS macro PROCESS program was used to test the mediation effect. This study found that there is a significant positive correlation between perceived stress and problematic smartphone use among junior high school students. The mediation effect test results show that perceived stress can not only positively predict problematic smartphone use, but also indirectly and positively predict problematic smartphone use. This result reveals the relationship between rumination and emotional regulation. The level of individual rumination directly predicts emotions.