The relationship between social support and smartphone addiction: the mediating role of negative emotions and self-control

作者：Guanping Zhong, Yang Shu, Yuelin Zhou, Hongwei Li, Jiushun Zhou, Lian Yang · 发表于：BMC Psychiatry · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12888-025-06615-8 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Impact of Technology on Adolescents、Behavioral Health and Interventions、Technostress in Professional Settings

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of the internet, smartphones have become an indispensable part of our lives. However, prolonged, excessive and uncontrolled use may lead to the hidden danger of smartphone addiction, posing a threat to users' physical and mental health. Previous studies have shown that social support may be a factor in alleviating smartphone addiction. However, its specific mechanism needs further exploration. The purpose of this study is to examine the chain mediating effects of negative emotions and self-control on the relationship between social support and smartphone addiction. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 2022 to April 2023 in Sichuan Province, China, with 5,188 respondents aged 15 years or older. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to determine correlations between social support, negative emotions, self-control, and smartphone addiction. We construct a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to explore the pathways of smartphone addiction across different age groups. RESULTS: Social support, negative emotions, self-control, and smartphone addiction were found to be significantly related (p < 0.01).In the population aged 15-44, a complete SEM pathway analysis was achieved, while for the population aged 45-64, a simplified version of the pathway analysis was obtained. Among the population aged 65 and above, multiple pathways were found to be nonsignificant. For the full sample, social support not only exhibited a negativ...