Left-behind experience and mobile phone addiction among college students: A moderated mediation of social anxiety and sex

Abstract

BackgroundWith the popularity of smartphone among Chinese college students, mobile phone addiction (MPA) is emerging a remarkable behavior problem in this population. Thus, the present study was aimed at investigating a moderated mediation model of left-behind experience (LBE) affecting MPA via social anxiety moderated by sex difference. MethodsA total of 1268 college students (Mage = 20.74, SD = 2.21) were recruited to complete self-administered questionnaires of mobile phone addiction index (MPAI) and interaction anxiousness scale (IAS). The participants also reported their sex, grade, and childhood and juvenile LBE. ResultsThe results indicated that LBE increased the level of MPA among college students via mediation by social anxiety. Furthermore, sex moderated the influence of social anxiety on MPA in the mediating model. Specifically, social anxiety affects male college students more strongly than female ones in terms of MPA. ConclusionOur findings support that LBE, social anxiety, and sex difference should be critically included into consideration when performing interventions to buffer MPA among college students.