Self-control mediates the relationship between time perspective and mobile phone addiction in Chinese college students

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone addiction (MPA) is a prevalent problem among college students, and Chinese college students are a high-risk group for smartphone addiction. MPA has a negative impact on the physical and mental health and academic performance of college students. Studies have explored the influence of many factors on MPA, such as the characteristics of the smartphone itself, the characteristics of the smartphone user, and the environment. However, to date, no studies have explored the protective and risk factors for MPA from the perspective of personality traits. From this perspective, this study explored the influence of time perspective and trait self-control on MPA to identify effective measures to prevent and intervene in MPA in college students. METHODS: The participants in this cross-sectional study were 526 Chinese college students. They completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Self-Control Scale and the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale using an online questionnaire tool. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships among time perspective, self-control and MPA. A latent variable mediation analysis of the structural equation model was used to examine the mediating role of self-control in the relationship between time perspective and MPA. RESULTS: Various dimensions of time perspective were strongly associated with MPA. Among these dimensions, past negative (r = 0.397, p < 0.001), present hedonistic (r = 0.207, p < 0.001), and present fatalistic perspectives (r = 0.444, p < 0.001) were positively associated with MPA, while a future time perspective (r = −0.200, p < 0.001) was negatively associated with MPA. Mediation effects analysis showed that past negative (β = 0.034, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.020–0.051]), present hedonistic (β = 0.038, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.02–0.06]), present fatalistic (β = 0.047, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.031–0.065]) and future orientation perspectives (β = −0.093, p < 0.001, 95% CI [−0.123–0.069]) indirectly influenced MPA through the mediating effect of self-control. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that a future time perspective and self-control are protective factors for MPA and that past negative, present hedonistic and present fatalistic perspectives are risk factors for MPA. College educators can prevent MPA in college students directly by cultivating their self-control ability, as well as indirectly by increasing their use of future time perspective and reducing past negative, present fatalistic and present hedonistic perspectives.