Background: Although a surge of interest has recently emerged in investigating the simultaneous problematic use of various technology-based tools, the findings are still inconclusive. The present web-based survey aimed at examining whether (a) personality traits, coping strategies, and sociodemographics are associated with problematic internet, smartphone, and SMS use among Greek users and (b) personality traits mediate the relationship between maladaptive coping strategies and problematic use of the three media.
Study design: A cross-sectional study.
Methods: A convenience and snowball sample of 1016 participants (84.4% female, mean age of 30.3 years) completed the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire-9 (PIUQ-9), the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), the Self-Perception of Text Message Dependency Scale (STDS), the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+(PDQ-4+), and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE).
Results: Shared predictors between problematic use of the three technology-based tools were younger age and low educational level, the coping strategy of substance use, and the narcissistic, avoidant, and dependent personality disorders. Predictors of problematic internet and smartphone use were coping strategies of emotional support, self-distraction, and behavioral disengagement. According to structural equation models (SEM) models, cluster C personality disorders fully mediate the relationship between maladaptive coping strategies and problematic use of technology-based tools.
Conclusion: Addressing factors that predispose (i.e., personality traits), precipitate, or maintain problematic use (i.e., coping strategies) can lead to effective and cost-saving preventive (i.e., screening of vulnerable groups) and therapeutic efforts (i.e., teaching adaptive coping strategies).
Keywords: Addiction; Internet; Overuse; Personality disorders; SMS text; Smartphone.
© 2022 The Author(s); Published by Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.