From rejection sensitivity to phubbing: Self-compassion and self-uncertainty as serial mediators and a self-compassion writing intervention

Phubbing—attending to one's smartphone in another person's presence—is widespread, yet its dispositional and intrapersonal correlates remain poorly understood. Drawing on the cognitive-affective model of rejection sensitivity (RS) and a self-regulatory resource framework, we examined whether RS is associated with phubbing through two intrapersonal processes: reduced self-compassion and heightened self-uncertainty, operationalized as low self-concept clarity. Across three studies with Chinese university students, we combined a cross-sectional survey (Study 1, N = 1202), an experiment crossing measured high- versus low-RS groups with a social-context recall manipulation (Study 2, N = 197), and a four-week randomized self-compassion expressive-writing intervention with one-month follow-up (Study 3, N = 87 completers). In Study 1, RS was positively associated with phubbing, with statistical indirect associations via self-compassion, self-uncertainty, and their serial combination. Study 2 replicated these indirect associations and showed that social context moderated the indirect pathway through self-compassion: relative to a neutral condition, it was larger after rejection recall and smaller after acceptance recall. In Study 3, self-compassion writing, relative to neutral writing, produced larger gains in self-compassion and larger reductions in phubbing, sustained at follow-up. The findings identify intrapersonal responses to rejection as correlates of phubbing and provide preliminary evidence for a targeted writing intervention.