Psychoanalytic Psychology

Attachment Anxiety and Solitude in the Age of Smartphones

Leslie Bermingham, Kevin B. Meehan, Philip S. Wong, and Leora Trub
Online First Publication, July 29, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pap0000372

CITATION
Bermingham, L., Meehan, K. B., Wong, P. S., & Trub, L. (2021, July 29). Attachment Anxiety and Solitude in the Age of
Smartphones. Psychoanalytic Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pap0000372
 Psychoanalytic Psychology
© 2021 American Psychological Association
ISSN: 0736-9735 https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000372

Attachment Anxiety and Solitude in the Age of Smartphones

Leslie Bermingham, MA1, Kevin B. Meehan, PhD1, Philip S. Wong, PhD1, and Leora Trub, PhD2
1
Department of Psychology, Long Island University—Brooklyn Campus
2
Department of Psychology, Pace University

The incapacity to tolerate and benefit from solitude is theorized to originate in deficits in the early caregiving
environment and has been implicated in adult psychopathology. Attachment anxiety, theoretically linked to an
incapacity to be alone, has been shown to positively predict smartphone dependency among young adults. The
present study examined the relationships between attachment anxiety, the capacity to be alone, and smartphone
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dependency among young adults. It was hypothesized that the association between attachment anxiety and
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

smartphone dependency would be mediated by the capacity to be alone. Participants were 181 ethnically
diverse young adults. Personality variables and smartphone dependency were assessed via self-report.
Smartphone use was measured behaviorally through Apple’s Screen Time smartphone application. Greater
attachment anxiety was associated with greater smartphone dependency; this relationship was mediated by the
capacity to be alone. By contrast, neither attachment anxiety nor the capacity to be alone was predictive of
actual smartphone use. These results inform our understanding of smartphone dependency and underscore the
importance of the capacity to be alone for psychological well-being.

Keywords: smartphone dependency, screen time, solitude, capacity to be alone, attachment anxiety

Thinkers, psychoanalytic and otherwise, have long debated the
merits of spending time alone. On the one hand, the pursuit of
solitude has been attributed to a pathological incapacity to connect
and share intimacy (e.g., Sullivan, 1953). In contrast, others have
noted the opportunities for self-discovery, creativity, and spirituality
afforded by time alone (e.g., Rousseau, 1782/1992; Storr, 1988).
This disagreement may reflect individual differences in the subjec-
tive experience of aloneness that are intuitively obvious: some
people prize time alone, others eschew it (Burger, 1995). Any
individual could probably locate themselves (and their significant
others) along this spectrum from solitude-loving to solitude-
loathing.
Winnicott (1958) proposed that the capacity to tolerate and
benefit from solitude represents a critical developmental achieve-
ment rooted in early caregiving experiences. When a child’s basic
needs are routinely met, they can shift their focus away from the
caregiver and indulge the private tasks of curiosity and contempla-
tion. Such a child comes to internalize representations of reliable
others that will serve to soothe and comfort, even when those others
are physically absent. When caregiving experiences are inconsistent
or of poor quality, such internalized representations may be experi-
Leslie Bermingham, MA https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2604-4741
Kevin B. Meehan, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7764-853X
Philip S. Wong, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1079-9587
Leora Trub, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5596-6505
This work was funded in part by a Society for Personality Assessment
Dissertation Grant.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Leslie Bermingham, MA, Department of Psychology, Long Island
University—Brooklyn Campus, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY
11201, United States. Email: lberming@gmail.com
enced as persecutory rather than comforting. To be alone may
therefore invite intense anxiety. Low tolerance for solitude has
been theoretically implicated in several common mental disorders,
including anaclitic depression, dependent personality disorder, and
borderline personality disorder (Meehan et al., 2014).
Bowlby (1980) described an anxious-preoccupied attachment
style characterized in part by difficulties tolerating solitude. Having
experienced abandonments large or small by neglectful, absent, or
distracted parents, the anxious-preoccupied adult fears separation
above all else; as such, time alone is frantically avoided. Prototypi-
cally, anxiously attached individuals can be comforted only when in
direct contact with an attachment figure, doubt their worth as an
independent person, and tend to blame themselves for any lack of
responsiveness from significant others (Bartholomew & Horowitz,
1991). According to attachment theory, relationships with signifi-
cant others are understood to require the flexibility to relax in states
of both solitude and companionship, with the one bolstering rather
than precluding the other (Detrixhe et al., 2014). Attachment theory
therefore provides us with a developmental model explaining
individual variation in experiences of solitude.
Those who struggle with solitude may attempt to self-regulate in a
variety of ways. In severe pathology and in moments of crisis, such
individuals may employ dangerous coping strategies (e.g., self-
mutilation and binge eating) to evade the negative affect that can
accompany solitude (Linehan, 1993). Outside of these relatively low
base-rate events, chronic self-distraction may represent a less dra-
matic yet more prevalent strategy for warding off solitude-induced
anxiety in the general population. Although distraction is explicitly
taught as a distress tolerance skill in certain therapy protocols
(e.g., dialectical behavioral therapy; DBT, Linehan, 1993), it may
also represent a type of experiential avoidance when used habitually
and indiscriminately (Carver et al., 1989). While distraction may
take many forms, the present study will consider dependency on a
contemporary and ubiquitous source of distraction for young adults:
smartphones. Smartphone use has proliferated at an extraordinary

1
 2 BERMINGHAM, MEEHAN, WONG, AND TRUB
rate in the last 10 years; 85% of Americans now own a smartphone
(an increase from only 35% in 2011), including 96% of young adults
aged 18-29 (Pew Research Center, 2021).
Smartphone technology has enabled us to communicate with
one another constantly and with extraordinary ease, yet it has been
argued that such communication may come at a cost to meaningful
interpersonal interaction as well as meaningful time spent alone
(Turkle, 2016). Sherry Turkle has published widely on this
apparent paradox of digital connection, contending that our de-
vices permit us to functionally opt out of our physical surround-
ings at any moment, thereby degrading the quality of our in vivo
interactions and leaving us essentially “alone together” (Turkle,
2017). Digital life, she argues, plays to one of our core human
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dilemmas: lonely, yet fearful of the vulnerability that intimacy
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requires, we are seduced by the facsimile of companionship
offered by technologies such as texting and social media. This
technological temptation contributes to what Turkle calls a culture
of distraction (Turkle, 2017), wherein constant, low-stakes digital
communications leave us precious little time to either engage
meaningfully with those around us or, importantly, to be truly
alone with our thoughts.
Though smartphones may be nearly universal, individual depen-
dency on smartphones varies considerably with both demographic
and personality attributes. Adolescents and emergent adults tend to
show higher habitual use and higher dependence on smartphones
than do older adults (Van Deursen et al., 2015). Gender has also
been identified as a relevant factor in smartphone use, though
inconsistently. Some research has found that smartphone depen-
dency is more prevalent among females than males (e.g., Bianchi &
Phillips, 2005; Jenaro et al., 2007; Twenge & Martin, 2020; Yang
et al., 2018), while one recent study identified similar levels of
smartphone addiction in males and females (Chen et al., 2017).
Smartphone dependency has also been associated with a range of
personality characteristics, including low self-esteem (Bianchi &
Phillips, 2005), high impulsivity (Billieux, 2012), and high
sensation-seeking (Leung, 2008).
Emergent international research has identified an apparent rela-
tionship between trait-level loneliness and smartphone habits. In a
sample of Chinese university students, trait-level loneliness was
found to be associated with symptoms of smartphone addiction,
including its continuous use despite negative consequences, preoc-
cupation, and cravings (Liang & Leung, 2018). Likewise, in a
sample of Turkish adolescents, subjective loneliness was found
to significantly predict “Nomophobia” (a portmanteau meaning “no
mobile phone phobia”) (Gezgin et al., 2018). Among a second
sample of Chinese college students, escapism motivation was found
to significantly predict smartphone dependency; further, this rela-
tionship was moderated by perceived stress for those who scored
high on smartphone dependency (Shen & Wang, 2019).
Attachment anxiety has also been empirically linked with smart-
phone dependency among young adults. Among a large sample of
Chinese university students, there was a significant positive associ-
ation between attachment anxiety and smartphone dependency, and
this relationship was significantly mediated by social support (Ge,
2014). In a sample of Korean university students, attachment
anxiety was found to have no direct effect on self-reported smart-
phone addiction, but a significant indirect effect via loneliness and
depression, suggesting that individuals higher in attachment anxiety
may be prone to responding to loneliness and depression by relying
on their smartphones (Kim et al., 2017). Moreover, attachment
anxiety has been implicated in other technology dependencies,
such as internet addiction (Monacis et al., 2017) and problematic
internet use (Odacı & Çıkrıkçı, 2014). Together, these findings
establish an important connection between dependency on the
smartphone (and related forms of digital distraction) and attachment
anxiety at the personality level.
Further, smartphones may themselves function as attachment
objects, such that one’s tendencies in relationships with other people
are likely to bear out in their relationship with their smartphone
(Parent & Shapka, 2020). Particularly for those high in attachment
anxiety, attachment to the smartphone appears to reflect attachment
style to people, as demonstrated by both proximity-seeking and
separation distress behaviors (Konok et al., 2016). Trub and Barbot
(2016) have articulated a two-dimensional model of smartphone
attachment: refuge, describing feelings of safety provided by the
phone and discomfort with separation from the phone, and burden,
describing feelings of relief upon separation from the phone. They
found that refuge was positively associated with attachment
anxiety, while burden was positively associated with attachment
avoidance. As with human relationships, it appears that one’s
subjective attachment to the smartphone may vary from benign
to problematic.
Extant smartphone research has largely relied on participants’
self-report of their smartphone usage and behavior. These self-report
methods fall into two basic categories: the first asks participants to
estimate the number of minutes per day they typically use their
smartphones (e.g., Lepp et al., 2014); unfortunately, self-estimated
smartphone use correlates only moderately with actual smartphone
use as measured by smartphone application (Boase & Ling, 2013).
The second asks participants about their subjective attitudes, beliefs,
or feelings about smartphones (e.g., Bianchi & Phillips, 2005; Trub
& Barbot, 2016). These self-report measures of smartphone depen-
dency have been shown to perform poorly in predicting smartphone
use as measured by smartphone application (Ellis et al., 2019),
suggesting that one’s subjective relationship with their smartphone
is an altogether different construct than the amount of time they
spend using the device. Individuals may use their smartphones
comparatively more due to demands unrelated to smartphone
dependency; for example, a professional driver for a ride-hailing
service might use their smartphone throughout every shift yet
experience no emotional dependency on the device. The present
study sought to improve upon past efforts by including a behavioral
rather than self-estimated measure of smartphone use, leveraging
the Apple iPhone application “Screen Time,” as well as a self-report
measure of smartphone dependency, or subjective attitude toward
one’s smartphone.
Hypotheses
It was predicted that in a sample of young adults:
Hypothesis 1: Attachment anxiety would positively predict
smartphone dependency.
Hypothesis 2: The relationship between attachment anxiety and
smartphone dependency would be mediated by the capacity to
be alone.
 ATTACHMENT ANXIETY AND SOLITUDE IN THE AGE OF SMARTPHONES
Hypothesis 3: Likewise, attachment anxiety would positively
predict smartphone use, as measured behaviorally by Screen
Time application.
Hypothesis 4: The relationship between attachment anxiety and
smartphone use would also be mediated by the capacity to
be alone.
Method
Participants
This study recruited students from a large, urban university in the
northeastern United States. Participants were recruited either via
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their psychology courses or via flyer. This data was collected as part
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of a larger protocol that involved daily online surveys administered
on eight consecutive days and completed via smartphone. In total,
355 participants completed the first survey and 254 of these
completed the full protocol. Of these 254 participants, 73 were
excluded from analyses because they failed validity criteria, either
by completing the initial survey in fewer than 10 min, responding
incorrectly to two attention check questions embedded in the initial
survey, or entering apparently erroneous Screen Time data (user-
transcribed Screen Time data were judged by comparing the rank
order of daily Screen Time reported on days one through six with the
rank order as assessed visually by a screenshot of the weekly Screen
Time report). Following these exclusions, the final sample consisted
of 181 participants.
The age of participants ranged 18–29 years (M = 21.45,
SD = 3.35). The age at which participants reported acquiring their
first smartphone ranged 6–23 years (M = 14.27, SD = 2.58) and
was normally distributed, with skewness of 0.20 (SE = 0.18) and
kurtosis of 0.86 (SE = 0.36). The sample was predominantly
female, with 145 (80.1%) female participants and 36 (19.9%)
male participants. The racial and ethnic breakdown was as follows:
51 (28.2%) were Asian, 45 (24.9%) were White, 34 (18.8%) were
Black, 19 (10.5%) were Latinx, 20 (11.0%) were Middle Eastern,
two (1.1%) were Native American, eight (4.4%) were Mixed, one
(0.6%) was “Other,” and one (0.6%) was missing data.
Measures
Demographic Questionnaire
Participants completed a brief demographic questionnaire,
including questions about race/ethnicity, gender, age, native lan-
guage, and age at acquisition of first smartphone.
Experience of Close Relationships Scale-Short Form
(ECR-SF; Wei et al., 2007)
Attachment anxiety was measured using the ECR-SF, a 12-item
self-report measure of adult attachment derived from the original 36-
item Experiences of Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan et al.,
1998). The Attachment Anxiety scale of the ECR-S, comprised of six
items, measures fear of rejection and abandonment. Respondents
select their level of agreement with each statement on a 7-point Likert
scale, with several reverse-scored items, yielding Attachment Anxiety
scores ranging 6–42. The Anxiety subscale showed acceptable
internal consistency in the present study (α = .71).
3
Capacity to Be Alone Scale (CBAS; Larson & Lee, 1996)
The capacity to be alone was measured using the Solitary Comfort
Scale (SCS), a subscale of the CBAS. The SCS measures an
individual’s ability to make use of time spent alone for relaxation
and emotional soothing. Its authors have associated the SCS with
lower depression and greater life satisfaction. Ten items are rated on
a 4-point Likert scale ranging from Definitely True to Definitely
False. After reverse coding five items, a sum score between 10 and
40 is calculated. This measure showed good internal consistency in
the present study (α = .86).
Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS; Bianchi &
Phillips, 2005)
Smartphone dependency was assessed with the MPPUS, a widely
used measure of smartphone dependency rooted in a model of
behavioral addiction. The measure is comprised of 27 statements
rated on a 10-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Not true at all) to 10
(Extremely true). This measure showed excellent internal consis-
tency in the present study (α = .91).
Screen Time
Smartphone use was assessed via the iOS smartphone application
Screen Time, introduced by Apple in October 2018 and automatically
installed on iPhones operating on iOS 12.1 and higher. Screen Time
generates a time-stamped report that can be accessed by a user at any
time, summarizing iPhone usage over the previous week. Participants
interacted with their phone’s Screen Time report to identify the specific
number of hours and minutes their screen was active on the preceding 6
days and entered that data directly into a self-report survey (a
methodology introduced by Ellis et al., 2019). An overall smartphone
use score was calculated as the average number of minutes the
smartphone was in use per day during the reporting period.
Procedure
For eight consecutive days, participants completed daily online
surveys distributed via text message. All measures relevant to the
present investigation were completed on day 1 of the protocol,
although respondents who completed the protocol during the first
half of the administration window completed the MPPUS on the
final, eighth day. Compensation and inclusion in analysis were
contingent upon participants’ completion of the full 8-day protocol.
Participants were compensated either with course credit or a $20
Amazon gift card. This procedure was approved by Long Island
University’s Institutional Review Board.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
Missing item scores were replaced with the mean score of that
measure’s existing responses. Measures missing more than 20%
of items were excluded from analyses. Descriptive statistics for
main study variables are displayed in Table 1. All continuous
variables were normally distributed (skewness < 2.0 and kurtosis <
2.0) apart from average daily screen time (skewness = 1.09,
SE = 0.18; kurtosis = 3.21, SE = 0.36), which was log
 4 BERMINGHAM, MEEHAN, WONG, AND TRUB

Table 1
Correlation Matrix for Main Study Variables

Measure 1 2 3 4 M SD N

1. Experiences of Close Relationships–Anxiety (ECR-A) 1.00 23.21 7.10 160

2. Capacity to Be Alone Scale—Solitary Comfort Subscale (CBAS-SCS) −.26** 1.00 32.77 5.44 180
3. Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS) .30*** −.26*** 1.00 115.21 38.24 181
4. Average daily screen timea .04 −.04 .13 1.00 2.53 0.17 181
a
Log transformed with base 10.
** p < .01. *** p < .001.

transformed with base 10, yielding a normal distribution. Prelimi- were significantly higher for those who completed the smartphone
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nary zero-order correlations of main study variables are also dis- measures on day 1 of the protocol than for those who did so on day 8.
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played in Table 1. Attachment anxiety was significantly negatively
correlated with the capacity for solitude and significantly positively
correlated with smartphone dependency. The capacity for solitude
was significantly negatively correlated with smartphone depen-
dency. Smartphone use showed no significant correlations with
other main study variables.
Because of these significant differences, exposure to smartphone
measures on day 1 was included as a covariate in analyses of both
smartphone dependency and smartphone use. Race/ethnicity and
age were also included as covariates for analyses of actual smart-
phone use only.

Covariate Analyses
Neither age (r = .01, p = .91), age at acquisition of first smart-
phone (r = .13, p = .08), nor gender, t(179) = 0.08, was signifi-
cantly associated with smartphone dependency. Likewise, racial/
ethnic groups did not exhibit significantly different smartphone
dependency, F(5, 174) = 1.66, p = .15. However, age was signifi-
cantly negatively associated with actual smartphone use (r = −.15,
p < .05). There were also significant mean differences between
racial/ethnic groups on actual smartphone use, F(5, 55.38) = 9.55,
p < .001. Both smartphone dependency and smartphone use scores
Main Analyses
Hypothesis 1: Attachment Anxiety Predicts Smartphone
Dependency
Hypothesis 1 stated that there would be a significant, positive total
effect of attachment anxiety on smartphone dependency. Hypotheses
1 and 2 were evaluated with Hayes Process Model #4 (Hayes, 2017)
including attachment anxiety as the predictor, the capacity to be
alone as the mediator, and smartphone dependency as the criterion;
exposure to smartphone variables on day 1 was included as a
covariate. Results are displayed in Figure 1. The overall model

Figure 1
Indirect Effect of Capacity for Solitude on the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and
Smartphone Dependency With Meditation

a = -0.20*, SE = 0.06, CI = [-0.32, -0.08] Capacity for b = -1.31*, SE = 0.59, CI = [-2.46, -0.14]
solitude

Attachment Smartphone
anxiety c’ = 1.28*, SE = 0.48, CI = [0.37, 2.27] dependency

Exposure to d = 11.20*, SE = 5.56, CI = [0.47, 22.14]

smartphone
variables on day 1

Note. Model F(2, 157) = 5.47, R2 = .07, p < .01. Indirect Effect (ab) = 0.27*, SE = 0.14, 95%
CI = [0.02, 0.56].
*p < .05.
 ATTACHMENT ANXIETY AND SOLITUDE IN THE AGE OF SMARTPHONES
predicting smartphone dependency was significant, F(2, 157) = 9.01,
R2 = .17, p < .001. Exposure to smartphone variables on day 1 of the
survey was not a significant predictor of smartphone dependency,
d = 9.76, SE = 5.68, 95% CI [−1.85, 20.82]. The total effect of
attachment anxiety on smartphone dependency was significant,
c = 1.54, SE = 0.49, t = 3.13, p < .01, 95% CI [0.57, 2.52].
Hypothesis 1 was therefore supported.
Hypothesis 2: Capacity for Solitude Mediates the Rela-
tionship Between Attachment Anxiety and Smartphone
Dependency
Hypothesis 2 stated that the relationship between attachment
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anxiety and smartphone dependency would be mediated by the
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capacity for solitude; results are also displayed in Figure 1. Greater
attachment anxiety was significantly negatively associated with
greater capacity for solitude (a). Greater capacity for solitude was,
in turn, significantly negatively associated with smartphone depen-
dency (b). There was a significant positive direct effect of attachment
anxiety on smartphone dependency (c′). There was a significant
indirect effect of attachment anxiety on smartphone dependency via
the capacity for solitude (ab). The capacity for solitude therefore
mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and smart-
phone dependency; Hypothesis 2 was also supported.
Hypothesis 3: Attachment Anxiety Predicts Smartphone
Use
Hypothesis 3 stated that there would be a significant, positive total
effect of attachment anxiety on smartphone use. Hypotheses 3 and 4
were also evaluated with Hayes Process Model #4, substituting
smartphone use as the criterion variable; exposure to smartphone
variables on day 1, age, and race/ethnicity were included as covari-
ates. The overall model predicting smartphone use was significant,
F(6, 152) = 10.15, R2 = .25, p < .001. However, the total effect of
attachment anxiety on smartphone use was not significant,
c = 0.002, SE = 0.002, 95% CI [−0.003, 0.003]. Hypothesis 3
was therefore not supported.
Hypothesis 4: Capacity for Solitude Mediates the Rela-
tionship Between Attachment Anxiety and Smartphone Use
Hypothesis 4 stated that the relationship between attachment
anxiety and smartphone use would be mediated by the capacity
for solitude. Greater attachment anxiety was significantly negatively
predictive of greater capacity for solitude, a = −0.19, SE = 0.06,
95% CI [−0.30, −0.07]. However, neither the direct effect of
capacity for solitude on smartphone use, b = 0.001, SE = 0.002,
95% CI [−0.003, 0.006] nor the indirect effect of attachment anxiety
on smartphone use through the capacity for solitude, ab = −0.0002,
SE = 0.004, 95% CI [−0.001, 0.0006], were significant. The capac-
ity for solitude therefore did not mediate the relationship between
attachment anxiety and smartphone use; Hypothesis 4 was also not
supported.
Discussion
This study explored young adults’ relationships to contemporary
technology (i.e., smartphones) through the lens of longstanding
5
psychoanalytic concepts of personality (i.e., the capacity for soli-
tude and attachment anxiety). The capacity to be alone and its
representational underpinnings have been implicated in diagnoses as
diverse as borderline personality disorder, dependent personality
disorder, and anaclitic depression (Meehan et al., 2014). This study
aimed to extend that literature to a general population of young
adults, specifically by exploring how variations in attachment
anxiety and experiences of solitude may relate to dependency on
smartphones, an object of near-universal importance to young
adults.
Attachment theory posits that when an infant experiences security
with a caregiver, they are enabled to both connect and to separate, to
wander away from the parent, explore their surroundings, and learn
about the world and themselves as an independent being (Bowlby,
1969). This study provided empirical evidence for the essential
relationship between the capacities to relate and to be alone, as
attachment anxiety was found to negatively predict the capacity for
solitude. Smartphone dependency has already been shown to relate
to individual differences in personality, including attachment anxi-
ety (e.g., Billieux, 2012; Trub & Barbot, 2016). As predicted, this
study further confirmed that attachment anxiety is predictive of
smartphone dependency in young adults; those vulnerable to devel-
oping unhealthy relationships with other people therefore appear to
replicate those patterns with their smartphones.
Of note, the same relationship was not identified between attach-
ment anxiety and smartphone use as measured behaviorally through
the smartphone application Screen Time. Thus, the relative health or
pathology of one’s relationship to their smartphone appears to be
reflected in the subjective quality of their relationship with the
device, rather than the specific number of hours or minutes they
spend on their smartphone. This finding is consistent with clinical
understandings of interpersonal attachment. In diagnosing attach-
ment insecurity, for example, clinicians consider the emotional
experiences of a patient’s intimate relationships: Do they require
excessive reassurance from their partner to feel loved? Do they crave
closeness so badly that they scare others away? Therapists are less
likely to try to gauge (or modify) the actual amount of time that a
patient spends with their partner. Much like our relationships with
other people, the intrapsychic experiences induced by closeness
with and separation from our smartphones appear reflective of
psychological well-being, while person-to-person variations in
actual levels of smartphone use are more likely attributable to other
factors.
Importantly, the relationship identified between attachment anxi-
ety and smartphone dependency was significantly mediated by the
capacity to be alone. In fact, when the capacity to be alone was
entered into regression models, there was no main effect of attach-
ment anxiety on smartphone dependency. That is, individuals who
show high levels of attachment anxiety, but through some range of
protective factors have nonetheless developed a capacity to tolerate
solitude, are no more likely to exhibit pathological smartphone
dependency than are their securely attached counterparts. While the
capacities to relate and to separate are clearly interconnected, the
latter therefore appears more essential to the current investigation
into pathological smartphone attitudes. When it comes to smart-
phone dependency, these findings suggest that a deficit in the
capacity to tolerate solitude is of primary importance, while the
capacity to relate may be more incidental.
 6 BERMINGHAM, MEEHAN, WONG, AND TRUB
That the relationship between attachment anxiety and smartphone
dependency is fully mediated by the capacity to be alone may
surprise those who view interpersonal relatedness as the principal
driving factor in psychological well-being and the primary target of
psychotherapy interventions. Since the field’s “relational turn” in
the 1980s, interpersonal connection and the mutual construction of
experience have enjoyed primacy in American psychoanalytic
theory and practice (Greenberg & Mitchell, 1983). Relational
psychoanalysis and psychotherapy consider the patient’s
relationships—both with significant others and with the analyst—
as a key mechanism of therapeutic change (Wachtel, 2007). This
emphasis on social functioning has had the effect of a relative de-
emphasis on intrapersonal factors such as the patient’s experience of
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solitude (Buchholz & Chinlund, 1994). The current findings there-
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fore provide an important reminder that to flourish, individuals must
not only connect with others, but also retain a sense of self as
independent from others.
Popular media narratives surrounding the use of technology tend
to emphasize the potential risks and dangers of smartphone use.
Excessive smartphone dependency certainly does exact a public
health toll, perhaps most indisputably by contributing to distracted
driving, which the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates was
responsible for 3,166 deaths in 2017 (National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2019).
The effects of smartphone dependency on mental health are less
clear, if they exist. Several studies have found associations between
smartphone dependency and issues relevant to mental health out-
comes and diagnoses among young adults, including academic
performance and depressive symptoms (Lepp et al., 2014), anxiety
(Lee et al., 2016), and self-esteem and social support (Choi & Yoo,
2015). Relatedly, research has repeatedly identified correlations
between the consumption of social media and mental health
problems (for a review, see Keles et al., 2020). These associations
have often been interpreted to suggest that the direction of causality
lies from technology to pathology, contributing to a popular narra-
tive that our devices are making us (and particularly young people)
unwell.
The present findings contribute important nuance to this discus-
sion by suggesting that a pathological relationship with one’s
smartphone may reflect characterological issues that predispose
individuals to the range of outcomes and symptoms enumerated
above, rather than to itself cause them. Attachment anxiety, while
somewhat malleable over the lifetime, is understood to largely
develop in early life (Bowlby, 1969), long before the acquisition
of a smartphone. Theoretically, one’s abilities to tolerate and benefit
from solitude, to self-soothe, and to experience security in close
relationships long predate one’s smartphone habits. Smartphone
dependency may therefore be better understood as a symptom of
certain developmental and characterological issues rather than a
disorder of its own. The same young people who are excessively
dependent on their smartphones might, without those devices,
exhibit other dependencies instead (e.g., on romantic partners,
substances); or they might show other comorbid dependencies on
technology, such as on videogames or television. Rather than
emphasizing the dangers and consequences of smartphone use,
these results suggest that as a society and as an academic field
we turn our attention to root causes of such dependencies in the early
caregiving environment.
Limitations
The study sample was predominantly female; findings would
have been more robust with additional male participants. Further, all
study data except for smartphone use were self-reported by parti-
cipants. There necessarily exists some question about the accuracy
with which participants were able to (or chose to) accurately report
on their own experiences.
Implications for Future Research
In the present study, the capacity for solitude was found to explain
the relationship between attachment anxiety and maladaptive smart-
phone use. These findings imply the importance of developing and
testing clinical approaches that emphasize the shoring up of patients’
tolerance for solitude. We therefore propose that the capacity to be
alone should itself be a target of therapeutic intervention. Conve-
niently, separation naturally occurs in therapy during the termina-
tion phase and, in microcosm, at the conclusion of each session. The
patient departs the therapist’s office (whether permanently or tem-
porarily) physically alone, yet theoretically retaining a representa-
tion of the therapist (Singer & Pope, 1978). A solitude-oriented
therapy might deliberately focus on the patient’s experience of
aloneness by inviting discussion and reflection on these important
moments of separation. Some such interventions already exist; for
example, in cognitive analytic therapy (CAT), therapists write a
goodbye letter to their patients intended to serve as a transitional
object during and after the termination phase (Corbridge et al.,
2017). Treatment protocols could also include intervention techni-
ques specifically aimed at developing the capacity to be alone; ideas
include psychoeducation on the benefits of solitude, behavioral
activation aimed at solitary activities, and exposures to solitude.
Summary
This study applied psychoanalytic concepts of personality to an
examination of smartphone dependency and use among a general
population of young adults; by so doing, it provided novel insights
into human personality, technology, and their intersection. Attach-
ment anxiety predicted smartphone dependency (though not smart-
phone use), and this relationship was mediated by the capacity to be
alone. Smartphone dependency appears to reflect an intolerance for
solitude, theoretically established in early life. It is recommended
that clinical work and research afford more explicit prominence to
bolstering patients’ abilities to separate from the therapist and
significant others and to benefit from and flourish in solitude.
摘要
无法容忍孤独和获益于孤独,被理论化为源于早期养育环境中的缺
陷,并一直与成人精神病理学有关。依恋焦虑,理论上与没有独处的
能力有关,已被证明可以积极预测年轻人对智能手机的依赖。本文研
究了依恋焦虑、独处能力与年轻人对智能手机的依赖之间的关系。
假设依恋焦虑和智能手机依赖的关联可以通过独处的能力来进行调
解。参加者是181名不同种族的年轻成人。人格变量和智能手机依
赖是通过自我报告来评估的。智能手机的使用是通过苹果的屏幕时
间智能手机应用来做行为测量的。更多的依恋焦虑与更多的智能手
机依赖相关;这种关系可通过独处的能力来调解。相比之下,无论是
依恋焦虑还是独处的能力,都无法预测智能手机的实际使用。这些结
 ATTACHMENT ANXIETY AND SOLITUDE IN THE AGE OF SMARTPHONES
果有助于我们了解病理性的智能手机依赖,并强调了独处的能力对于
心理健康的重要性。
关键词: 智能手机依赖, 屏幕时间, 孤独, 独处的能力, 依恋焦
虑 Jenaro, C., Flores, N., Gómez-Vela, M., González-Gil, F., & Caballo, C.
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