Adolescent Smartphone Addiction and Unintentional Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Attentional Control and the Moderating Role of Self-Expansion via Smartphone

Liu Qinxue; Tian Zhonghe; Qi Di; Wu Jayin; Zhou Zongkui

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240327

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (3) : 726-733. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240327

Research on Social Psychological Service in the New Era

Adolescent Smartphone Addiction and Unintentional Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Attentional Control and the Moderating Role of Self-Expansion via Smartphone

Liu Qinxue^1,2,3, Tian Zhonghe^1,2,3, Qi Di^1,2,3, Wu Jayin^1,2,3, Zhou Zongkui^1,2,3

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Abstract

Smartphone has been exceedingly popular among adolescents and becomes an essential tool for communicating, looking for information, and having fun. However, the extensive use of smartphones leads to smartphone addiction, which brings many negative consequences, such as procrastination.
Procrastination was usually regarded as a failure of self-regulation. However, recently, the Metacognitive Model of Procrastination has proposed that procrastination can be further divided into intentional procrastination and unintentional procrastination (UP). Studies have shown that UP, which is passive, involuntary, and with negative metacognitive beliefs and feelings, can better predict negative consequences such as depression, anxiety, and failure in academic achievements than intentional and general procrastination. Thus, this study took the concept of UP to better illuminate the mechanism of how smartphone addiction was related to UP. According to prior studies, smartphone addiction may be an important factor that influences the UP in adolescents. Therefore, this study attempted to examine the relation between the two variables and the underlying mechanism.
Attentional control is the ability to consciously activate, focus and shift attention during interference. Empirical studies have found that smartphone addiction could damage one’s attentional control. Meanwhile, according to the Self-Regulatory Executive Functioning Theory and the Metacognitive Model of Procrastination, the derogation of attentional control may be related with UP. Therefore, attentional control may mediate the relation between smartphone addiction and UP among adolescents.
From the perspective of the self-expansion model and the role of smartphone in our life, prior researchers proposed the concept of self-expansion via smartphone. We inferred that adolescents’ level of self-expansion via smartphone would moderate the relation between smartphone addiction and attentional control.
The present study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the effect of smartphone addiction on adolescents’ UP, and further explore the mediating role of attentional control and the moderating role of self-expansion via smartphone. A sample of 866 students (44.9% males; Mage = 16.00 years, SD = .84 years) from two regular high schools completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale for College Students, the Attentional Control Scale, the Unintentional Procrastination Scale, and the Mobile Phone Self-Expansion Scale. SPSS 24.0 and SPSS macro PROCESS were used to manage and analyze data.
The results indicated that: (1) Adolescent smartphone addiction positively predict UP. (2) Attentional control (including distraction and shifting) played a partial mediating role between adolescent smartphone addiction and UP. (3) Self-expansion via smartphone moderates the relation between smartphone addiction and distraction but not shifting. Specifically, when the level of self-expansion via smartphone is higher, smartphone addiction predicted distraction more significantly.
The study revealed the mechanisms in the relation between adolescent smartphone addiction and UP. Smartphone addiction could influence adolescents’ UP through attentional control, and the mediation effect of attentional control was influenced by self-expansion via smartphone. Moreover, the present study extended previous research and provided empirical implications for the prevention of procrastination and how to reduce the negative consequences of smartphone addiction. We could reduce adolescents’ tendency to complete self-expansion via smartphone and train their attentional control ability to reduce the negative effects of smartphone addiction.

Key words

smartphone addiction / unintentional procrastination / attentional control / self-expansion via smartphone / adolescents

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Liu Qinxue, Tian Zhonghe, Qi Di, Wu Jayin, Zhou Zongkui. Adolescent Smartphone Addiction and Unintentional Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Attentional Control and the Moderating Role of Self-Expansion via Smartphone[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(3): 726-733 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240327

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