The Relationship Among Anxiety, Depression, and Problematic Smartphone Use in University Students: The Mediating Effect of Psychological Inflexibility

OBJECTIVE: The number of studies that reveal the relationship between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and various health problems is increasing. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship among PSU, depression, and anxiety and the mediating effect of psychological inflexibility (PI) in this relationship in university students. METHODS: This study was conducted with 412 university students aged between 18–35 years studying at a state university. All participants completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version. PROCESS macro in SPSS was used for mediation analysis. RESULTS: Our analyses showed that both depression and anxiety were independent predictors of PSU even after controlling for each other. Our findings show that PI is the mediator variable in the effect of depression and anxiety on PSU. CONCLUSION: Mental health professionals working with problematic smartphone use among university students should consider psychological inflexibility as well as depression and anxiety.