Abstract
Background and Objectives: Among college students, individuals who have experiences of being bullied often exhibit a higher tendency towards smartphone dependency and lower levels of self-control, which further intensifies the degree of smartphone dependency. However, physical exercise may play a moderating role in this relationship, weakening the association between experiences of being bullied and self-control. This study aimed to explore this complex relationship and construct a moderated mediation model to further investigate the underlying psychological and behavioral mechanisms of smartphone dependency among college students. Methods: A sample of 761 Chinese college students (age: 19.21 ± 0.99; 192 males, 569 females) was selected for this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, which included measures of experiences of being bullied, smartphone dependency levels, self-control levels, and physical exercise levels. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 software and the PROCESS plugin (model 7), including correlation analysis, mediation models, and moderation models, to examine the relationships between the main variables, the mediating role of anxiety between experiences of being bullied and smartphone dependency, and the moderating role of physical exercise between experiences of being bullied and self-control. Gender and age were included as covariates in the analysis. Results: The results showed a significant positive correlation between experiences of being bullied and smartphone dependency, as well as a significant negative correlation between experiences of being bullied and self-control. After controlling for the covariates and introducing the mediator and moderator variables, experiences of being bullied significantly predicted college students' smartphone dependency levels (β= 0.38, t = 13.24, p＜0.001), while self-control partially mediated this relationship (β= -0.47, t = -16.54, p＜0.001). However, physical exercise had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between experiences of being bullied and self-control among college students (interaction term between physical exercise and experiences of being bullied: β= -0.07, t = -2.11, p＜0.05), weakening this relationship. Conclusion: The moderated mediation model constructed in this study sheds light on the relationship between experiences of being bullied and smartphone dependency among college students. Self-control plays a mediating role between the two, while physical exercise weakens the association between experiences of being bullied and self-control, thereby playing an important moderating role in alleviating college students' smartphone dependency. These findings provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for intervention and prevention of smartphone dependency among college students.
Published Version
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