Examining the associations between mental well-being, emotional regulation, social anxiety, and excessive smartphone use

Introduction Interpreting and perceiving adequately others’ emotions and the regulative processes within one’s mental health are barriers or predisposing factors in the development of smartphone addiction. Objectives The research explores the role of mental health, fear of negative perception, and assessment of other people’s emotions, which influence excessive smartphone use. Methods The survey included 400 respondents, of whom 104 were men (26%), 293 women (73.2%), and three persons (0.8%) who indicated a different gender. The mean age of the participants was 25.9 years (SD 10.9). Registered answers refer to demographic data (gender, age, smartphone usage habits) as well as psychological measures: a Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), a Mental Health Continuum Scale (MHC), an Assessing Emotions Scale (AES), and Fear of Negative Perception Questionnaire (FNPQ). Results Results show a significant negative correlation between the SABAS score and global mental well-being ( r (398) = -.15, p = .005) and a significant positive correlation between the SABAS score and fear of negative perception ( r (398) = .27, p = .001). Using SABAS’s cutoff point (23 points), non-problem ( M = 59.6, SD = 11.4) and problem users ( M = 55.8, SD = 11.3) differ significantly in global mental well-being ( t (398) = -2.9, p = .004) and each of its sub-factors, emotional, social, and psychological well-being; as well as non-problem ( M = 20, SD = 8.2) and problem users ( M = 24.1, SD = 8.4) in fear of negative perception ( t (398) = 4.3, p = .001). Relevant associations between emotional regulation and problematic smartphone use we did not find. Conclusions The resulting data will support to investigation of the role of mental health well-being factors in the development of problematic smartphone usage, besides prevention and psychotherapeutic intervention. Disclosure of Interest None Declared