The association between the deviation from balanced time perspective on adolescent pandemic mobile phone addiction: the moderating role of self-control and the mediating role of psychological distress

Hao Zhang; Canjie Chen; Luoyi Zhang; Shuang Xue; Wanjie Tang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1298256

The association between the deviation from balanced time perspective on adolescent pandemic mobile phone addiction: the moderating role of self-control and the mediating role of psychological distress

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 8:14:1298256. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1298256. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Hao Zhang¹, Canjie Chen², Luoyi Zhang^{3

4}, Shuang Xue⁵, Wanjie Tang^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ School of Education and Psychology, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, China.
² Guangzhou Panyu Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China.
³ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, City University of Macau, Macao, Macao SAR, China.
⁴ Institute of Analytical Psychology, City University of Macau, Macao, Macao SAR, China.
⁵ Department of Sociology and Psychology, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁶ Mental Health Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Background: Few studies have examined the impact that the deviation from balanced time perspective (DBTP) had on mobile phone addiction during the COVID-19 normalization prevention and control phase. Therefore, this study sought to determine the associations between DBTP, depression and anxiety, self-control, and adolescent mobile phone addiction.

Methods: The moderated mediating model was tested using the SPSS PROCESS model. The sample was 1,164 adolescents from different regional areas of Sichuan, China. From February to March 2020, participants completed the Zimbardo time perspective inventory (ZTPI), the brief symptom inventory for physical and mental health (BSI-18), the self-control scale (SCS), and the Chinese version of the mobile phone addiction index (MPAI).

Results: The DBTP was significantly and positively correlated with mobile phone addiction, depressive and anxiety symptoms mediated the relationship between DBTP and mobile phone addiction, self-control moderated the indirect effect of DBTP on mobile phone addiction, and as the level of self-control increased, the effect of DBTP on anxiety and depression and the effect of depression and anxiety on mobile phone addiction weakened.

Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, DBTP and lower self-control were risk factors for higher mobile phone addiction in adolescents. Therefore, guiding adolescents to balance their time perspective and enhance their self-control could strengthen their psychological well-being and reduce addictive mobile phone behaviors. This research was supported by "Youth Fund of the Ministry of Education" (18YJCZH233): "Research on the plastic mechanism of decision-making impulsiveness of anxious groups in the context of risk society."

Keywords: adolescent mobile phone addiction; balanced time perspective; depression and anxiety; moderated and mediation analysis; self-control.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by “Youth Fund of the Ministry of Education” (18YJCZH233):"Research on the plastic mechanism of decision-making impulsiveness of anxious groups in the context of risk society.”