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Risk and Protective Factors Associated With

Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing Behavior Among
College Students in China

Article in Psychological Reports · April 2022

DOI: 10.1177/00332941221084905

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Original Research Article

Psychological Reports
2022, Vol. 0(0) 1–18
Risk and Protective Factors © The Author(s) 2022
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Addiction and Phubbing
Behavior Among College
Students in China

Xinyi Lai and Chenyan Hu

School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Liang Ying
Renji College, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Huihui Xu and Chengjia Zhao

School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Xue Yang
Center for Health Behaviours Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University
of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, China

Xin Yu
School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Guohua Zhang 
The Affiliated Kangning Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, China

Corresponding Authors:
Guohua Zhang, The Affiliated Kangning Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
Email: zghcnu@wmu.edu.cn
Xin Yu, Department of Psychology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Email: yuxin@bjmu.edu.cn
Xue Yang, Center for Health Behaviours Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese
University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, China.
Email: yangxuemail8@gmail.com
2 Psychological Reports 0(0)

Abstract
Both smartphone addiction and phubbing are emerging behavioral problems. The present
study investigates potential risk and protective factors of smartphone addiction and
phubbing behavior, including demographic factors, personal factors, and interpersonal
factors among Chinese college students. A total of 866 college students (Mage = 21.01,
SD = 1.60) completed self-reported questionnaires in classroom settings. Collected data
were analyzed by using Pearson’s correlation and hierarchical linear regression analyses.
The risk factors for smartphone addiction were phubbing behavior, depression, and social
anxiety, while the protective factors were self-control and sense of security. In addition,
the risk factors for phubbing behavior included female sex and smartphone addiction,
while the protective factors included sense of security and interpersonal adaptability. Our
findings help to enhance understanding of the general and specific risks and protective
factors for smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior, which can benefit intervention
development for related behavior prevention and reduction.

Keywords
mobile phone, addiction, phubbing, potential factors, chinese undergraduates

Introduction
With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, the use of
smartphones in modern society has been widely popularized. Recently, a global mobile
market survey revealed that worldwide mobile phone users have reached 3.4 billion in
September 2020, of which Chinese users account for nearly a quarter (Newzoo, 2020).
In China, data released in June 2020 showed that the number of mobile Internet users
had reached 932 million, equating to an increase of 35.46 million from March 2020,
and the average online time spent per capita was 28 hours per week. In addition,
students accounted for the highest percentage (23.7%) of netizens (CNNIC, 2020). The
smartphone penetration rate of Chinese college students rose from 84.6% to 99.3%
between 2012 and 2015 (Bian & Leung, 2015; Long et al., 2016; Wang & Zhang,
2015).
Smartphones offer both advantages and drawbacks. In spite of the obvious benefits
of smartphone usage, excessive or maladaptive use may cause a series of adverse
health and interpersonal consequences (e.g., smartphone addiction and phubbing)
(Bulut & Nazir, 2020; Buscha & McCarthyb, 2020; Lee et al., 2014; Long et al., 2016;
Thomée, 2018), and this has become a common concern in modern life. College
students are particularly susceptible to smartphone addiction because they have more
discretionary time compared to other groups and are more likely to pursue new things,
but may have relatively low ability and awareness pertaining to self-control or self-
regulation (Lepp et al., 2014). The prevalence of smartphone addiction among them is
as high as 37.9% in 2015 (Wang & Zhang, 2015). In addition, phubbing has
Lai et al. 3

dramatically increased and become a significant public concern. The prevalence of

phubbing in college students is nearly 50% in 2018, and more than 80% of college
students believe that phubbing behavior is a growing social problem (Davey et al.,
2018; Nazir, 2017). Therefore, it is important to identify the risk and protective
factors regarding smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior among college
students.

Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing Behavior

Smartphone addiction has been highlighted as a mental health problem or behavioral
problem (Bianchi & Phillips, 2005; Derevensky et al., 2019; Sahu et al., 2019; Thomée,
2018; Yen et al., 2009). Smartphone addiction is known as a non-material addiction or
behavioral addiction related to excessive and compulsive use of smartphones, resulting
in negative consequences for physical, psychological, and social functions (Ivanova
et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2014; Xiong et al., 2012). According to a review by Liu et al.
(2017), the symptoms of smartphone addiction include four main typical character-
istics: (1) losing control over smartphone usage; (2) psychological dependence on
smartphones; (3) withdrawal symptoms, particularly psychological symptoms such as
restlessness; and (4) a series of adverse effects on individuals’ mental and physical
health.
Phubbing, as a social problem (Bianchi & Phillips, 2005; Davey et al., 2018; Ergün
et al., 2020; Isrofin & Munawaroh, 2021), is a portmanteau derived from the individual
words “phone” and “snubbing,” and is often regarded as offensive and contrary to
social norms (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Karadağ et al., 2015; T’ng et al., 2018). It
refers to the behavior of individuals who do not pay attention to their surroundings on
social occasions, and avoid face-to-face interpersonal communication and stare at their
mobile phones instead (Haigh, 2015; Karadağ et al., 2015). Phubbing behavior is
highly related to smartphone addiction. Gong et al. (2019) reported a strong positive
correlation between smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior, and several other
studies have also revealed that phubbing can be caused by smartphone addiction (Al-
Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Bulut & Nazir, 2020; Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas,
2016; Davey et al., 2018; Karadağ et al., 2015; T’ng et al., 2018). Some publications
have even suggested that smartphone addiction is the principal component of phubbing
behavior, and is responsible for this social problem (Chatterjee, 2020; Isrofin &
Munawaroh, 2021). There is thus a need to thoroughly study the relationships be-
tween smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior, and the general and specific
factors (e.g., demographic factors, personal factors, and interpersonal factors)
(Derevensky et al., 2019).

Potential Risk Factors and Protective Factors

An increasing number of studies have considered the factors affecting smartphone
addiction. Most have emphasized demographic factors (e.g., sex and age) (Balogun &
4 Psychological Reports 0(0)

Olatunde, 2020; Bian & Leung, 2015; Van Deursen et al., 2015), but many have
focused on personality factors (e.g., self-control, self-esteem, and extroversion)
(Balogun & Olatunde, 2020; Bianchi & Phillips, 2005; Khang et al., 2013; Mok et al.,
2014; Wang et al., 2020; You et al., 2019) and psychological factors (e.g., depression,
social anxiety, and fear of missing out) (Abdollah & Mansour, 2015; Darcin et al., 2016;
Lee et al., 2014; Long et al., 2016; Mok et al., 2014; Tao et al., 2017). External factors
(e.g., family income, family functioning, and school environment) also play an im-
portant role in smartphone addiction (Long et al., 2016; Roser et al., 2016). A number
of predictors have also been mentioned and summarized in related reviews (Buscha &
McCarthyb, 2020; Fischer-Grote et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2017; Sahu et al., 2019);
however, findings on these factors have been inconsistent and inconclusive, and
precautionary awareness of the risks of smartphone addiction is required for young
people and psychological providers (Sohn et al., 2019); hence, further studies are
needed to validate them (Fischer-Grote et al., 2019), and clarify the importance of
different influencing factors.
Recently, the prevalence of phubbing and its adverse consequences have boosted
related research (Davey et al., 2018). Some studies that have explored the factors
affecting phubbing behavior have taken smartphone addiction into consideration and
investigated demographic (e.g., sex and age), personality (e.g., self-control, openness,
and neuroticism), and psychological (e.g., negative emotions and satisfaction with life)
factors concerning smartphone addiction (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Davey et al.,
2018; Ergün et al., 2020; Gong et al., 2019; Guazzini et al., 2019; Isrofin &
Munawaroh, 2021; Nazir & Bulut, 2019), but we still cannot fully understand what
causes it (Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016). Since this field is in the early mature
stage, studies from then on should be carried out in different cultural context and focus
on diverse factors (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Ergün et al., 2020).

The Present Study

The socio-ecological model of health-risk behaviors highlights that a person’s health-
risk behavior and lifestyle are determined by multi-level socio-ecological systems
including personal, interpersonal, and community systems (McLeroy et al., 1988).
Therefore, based on the socio-ecological model of health-risk behaviors, this study
investigates three types of potential factors of the two behavioral problems: demo-
graphic factors (i.e., sex and age), personal factors (i.e., self-control, sense of security,
and depression), and interpersonal factors (i.e., interpersonal adaptability and social
anxiety).
First, sex and age are potential important demographic factors responsible for both
smartphone addiction and phubbing. With regard to maintaining social connections
through the Internet, women are more prone to smartphone addiction (Mok et al., 2014;
Van Deursen et al., 2015); in addition, studies have reported that women are more likely
to engage in phubbing behavior compared to men (Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas,
2016; Gong et al., 2019; Karadağ et al., 2015, 2016). Furthermore, younger people who
Lai et al. 5

are more likely to embrace new technologies have been highlighted as a high-risk group
with respect to smartphone addiction and phubbing (Bian & Leung, 2015; Davey et al.,
2018; Karadağ et al., 2016; Van Deursen et al., 2015).
Personal and psychological factors impacting smartphone addiction and phubbing
may include lack of self-control and sense of insecurity, and increased emotional
problems (e.g., depression). Self-control refers to the ability of individuals to restrain
their desires and change their inherent mode of behavior and thinking to match their
personal values with social expectations (Tan & Guo, 2008). Lack of self-control has
been found to be positively associated with both smartphone addiction (Khang et al.,
2013; Lee et al., 2014; Van Deursen et al., 2015; Yen et al., 2009) and phubbing
behavior (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016; Davey
et al., 2018). In addition, compensatory Internet use theory infers that people expe-
riencing negative self-perceptions and emotions are more likely to overindulge in
smartphone usage (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014). Specifically, people who report having
higher levels of sense of insecurity (Jin et al., 2017; Sahu et al., 2019) and depression
(Buscha & McCarthyb, 2020; Chatterjee, 2020; Yen et al., 2009) are more likely to use
their smartphones excessively. These psychological statuses may indicate an indi-
vidual’s lack of self-control and negative coping styles, which increases problematic or
addictive behaviors such as smartphone addiction. These factors may also be applicable
to explain the development of phubbing behavior since mental health instability often
signifies insufficient emotion regulation during face-to-face communication, and such
insufficient regulation could make people focus on their smartphone as a barrier against
the social interactions taking place (T’ng et al., 2018). However, few empirical studies
have focused on these potential factors of phubbing behaviors.
Interpersonal adaptability and social anxiety are potential interpersonal factors af-
fecting smartphone addiction and phubbing. Interpersonal adaptability refers to the
ability to establish harmonious relationships with other people through social interaction
(Lu, 2003; Zhang et al., 2020). College students often rely on smartphones for social
interaction and interpersonal adaptability (You et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2020); however,
interpersonal inadaptability may be a source of stress and increase maladaptive coping
(e.g., avoidance) and problematic behaviors (e.g., smartphone addiction) in this group.
Although previous studies have shown positive correlations between interpersonal
problems and smartphone addiction (e.g., Chen & Zheng, 2021), no study has yet
examined the relationship between interpersonal adaptability and phubbing. In addition,
people with high levels of social anxiety tend to excessively use smartphones (Darcin
et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2014; Thomée, 2018) and display frequent phubbing behavior
during social interactions to avoid real-time relationships (Guazzini et al., 2019).

Objectives and Hypotheses

In this study, we investigate the risk and protective factors at demographic, personal,
and interpersonal levels for smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior among
Chinese college students to better understand the general and specific factors impacting
6 Psychological Reports 0(0)

these two different yet related behavioral problems. Specifically, we test the following
hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1. Smartphone addiction is positively correlated with phubbing behavior.

Hypothesis 2. Female sex and younger age are positively associated with smartphone
addiction and phubbing behavior.

Hypothesis 3. Self-control and sense of security are negatively associated with smart-
phone addiction and phubbing behavior, while depression is positively associated with
smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior.

Hypothesis 4. Interpersonal adaptability is negatively associated with smartphone

addiction and phubbing behavior, while social anxiety is positively associated with
smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior.

Methods
Participants and Procedure
This study used a convenience sample of college students. The participants were
recruited from Wenzhou Medical University in Zhejiang Province, China. The in-
clusion criteria of this study were that students (1) were willing to participate in the
survey and (2) used a smartphone on a daily basis. The two research coordinators
explained to the participants that participation was voluntary and refusals would have
no negative consequences. Participants were informed that completion of the ques-
tionnaire would imply informed consent. They also guaranteed data confidentiality and
explained that only the researchers could access the data. Participants were allocated
about 20 minutes of in-class time to complete the questionnaires and answer the
questions anonymously. A total of 1080 Chinese college students participated in the
study; 214 (19.8%) were excluded from the data analysis because more than 20% of the
data was missing from one or more scales. The remaining 866 participants comprised
242 males (27.9%) and 624 females (72.1%), and 341 citizens (39.4%) and 525 rural
residents (60.6%). Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors accounted for 24.7%,
14.7%, 41.6%, and 19% of the sample, respectively. The participants did not receive
any financial incentive for completing the study. The research was approved by the
institutional review board of the first author’s university.

Measures
Participants completed the questionnaires using a self-rating method. Initial questions
pertained to demographics such as sex, age, school year, and location of residence.
They then recorded their responses for the following scales.
Lai et al. 7

The 16-item Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale (MPATS) was applied to
assess smartphone addiction (Xiong et al., 2012). MPATS contains four dimensions:
withdrawal symptoms, salience, social comfort, and mood changes. A sample item is “I
feel uncomfortable if I can’t use my smartphone for a long time.” Items were rated on a
5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); higher
scores indicated higher levels of smartphone addiction among college students. The
Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.88 in this study.
The 15-item Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) was used to measure phubbing behavior
(Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2018). The Chinese version of GSP (Gong & Lei, 2019)
consists of four dimensions: nomophobia, interpersonal conflict, self-isolation, and
problem acknowledgment. Items such as “I use my phone even though I know it irritates
others.” were ranged from 1 (never) to 7 (always), with a higher score indicating more
phubbing behavior. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.86 in this study.
The 19-item Self-control Scale was used to measure self-control (Tan & Guo, 2008).
A sample item is “People believe that I can stick to the plan.” Items were rated on a 5-
point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); higher scores
represented better self-control. The Cronbach’s α of the scale was 0.79 in this study.
The 16-item Security Questionnaire (SQ) was chosen to evaluate feeling of security
(Cong & An, 2004). The SQ comprises two main factors, interpersonal security and
certainty in control, with each item rated from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). A
sample item is “I think my life is full of uncertainty and unpredictability.” A higher score
indicated a stronger sense of security. The Cronbach’s α of the scale was 0.89 in this study.
The 20-item Self-rating Depression Scale was used to measure depression symp-
toms (Zung, 1965). Each item (e.g., “I feel down-hearted and blue”) was rated from 1
(none, or a little of the time) to 4 (most, or all of the time). Higher scores reflected a
more severe tendency toward depression (Wang et al., 1993). The Cronbach’s α of the
scale was 0.84 in this study.
The 11-item College Student Interpersonal Adaptability Inventory was used to measure
interpersonal adaptability (Lu, 2003). Each item (e.g., “I can quickly resolve conflicts with
others”) was rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicated
stronger interpersonal adaptability. The Cronbach’s α of the scale was 0.85 in this study.
The 13-item Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) was applied to measure
social anxiety. The Chinese version of SAS-A comprises three dimensions, which
include fear of negative evaluation, social avoidance and distress in new situations, and
social avoidance and distress—general (Zhu, 2008). A sample item is “I worry about
what others think of me.” Each item was rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). Higher scores reflected a higher degree of social anxiety. The Cronbach’s α of
the scale was 0.92 in this study.

Data Analysis
First, the means (M) and standard deviations (SD), as well as the range (from minimum
to maximum values) were adopted for the continuous variables, along with percentages
8 Psychological Reports 0(0)

for categorical variables to list characteristics and descriptive statistics for all variables
in the study. Second, Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to examine the asso-
ciations among these variables. Third, four-stage hierarchical linear regressions were
conducted to reveal the risk and protective factors of smartphone addiction and
phubbing behavior. In the two regression models, demographic variables (i.e., age and
sex) were adjusted; smartphone addiction or phubbing behavior was entered in the second
block. After controlling the variables above, personal factors (i.e., self-control, sense of
security, and depression) and interpersonal factors (i.e., interpersonal adaptability and social
anxiety) were put into the third and fourth block, respectively. The missing values were
filled in using the median of valid surrounding values. SPSS 21.0 was used for the statistical
analysis, and the level of statistical significance was set at .05.

Results
Preliminary Analysis
Table 1 shows the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and descriptive
statistics of the scales. A total of 866 Chinese college students were included (27.9%
male, n = 242; 72.1% female, n = 624), and the mean age was 21.01 years (SD = 1.60).
Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of study participants and descriptive statistics of
scales.

Variables Total Number (%) Range M (SD)

Sex
Male 242 (27.9)
Female 624 (72.1)
Age (years) 18–24 21.01 (1.60)
School year (grade)
First 214 (24.7)
Second 127 (14.7)
Third 360 (41.6)
Fourth 165 (19.0)
Location of residence
Urban 341 (39.4)
Rural 525 (60.6)
Smartphone addiction 17–77 39.29 (10.09)
Phubbing behavior 20–93 45.23 (12.56)
Self-control 21–73 44.08 (6.34)
Sense of security 21–77 53.72 (10.09)
Depression 20–78 36.74 (8.49)
Interpersonal adaptability 23–55 41.18 (6.42)
Social anxiety 13–64 33.26 (9.97)
Lai et al. 9

Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficients of smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior with
other variables.

Smartphone Addiction Phubbing Behavior

Smartphone addiction 1
Phubbing behavior 0.682** 1
Self-control 0.456** 0.351**
Sense of security 0.445** 0.418**
Depression 0.415** 0.350**
Interpersonal adaptability 0.431** 0.436**
Social anxiety 0.498** 0.432**
Note. **p < 0.01.

The mean scores of smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior were 39.29 (SD =
10.09) and 45.23 (SD = 12.56), respectively.

Correlation Analysis
Table 2 shows the correlation coefficients for smartphone addiction and phubbing
behavior with the other variables. As expected, a significantly positive correlation was
found between smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior, and all other variables
were also found to be significantly correlated with smartphone addiction and phubbing
behavior, respectively.

Risk and Protective Factors

As shown in Table 3, the potential risk factors for smartphone addiction were phubbing
behavior, depression, and social anxiety; the potential protective factors included self-
control and sense of security. Eight variables accounted for 57.5% of the variance of
Chinese college students’ smartphone addiction.
As shown in Table 4, the potential risk factors for phubbing behavior were female
sex and smartphone addiction; the potential protective factors were sense of security
and interpersonal adaptability. Eight variables explained 50.8% of the variance of
Chinese college students’ phubbing behavior.

Discussion
To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the associations between
smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior, and their risk and protective correlates
among Chinese college students. Our results strengthen previous findings that
10 Psychological Reports 0(0)

Table 3. Hierarchical linear regression analysis of smartphone addiction.

Variable Beta t p ΔF R2 ΔR2

Step 1 1.661 0.004 0.004

Sex 0.024 0.712 > 0.05
Age 0.055 1.604 > 0.05
Step 2 780.243*** 0.477 0.473
Phubbing behavior 0.690 27.933 < 0.001
Step 3 53.891*** 0.560 0.083
Self-control 0.219 8.816 < 0.001
Sense of security 0.081 2.912 < 0.01
Depression 0.133 4.943 < 0.001
Step 4 15.304*** 0.575 0.015
Interpersonal adaptability 0.013 0.396 > 0.05
Social anxiety 0.162 5.417 < 0.001
Notes: Dependent variable = smartphone addiction; Males were coded as 0, and females as 1; Beta =
regression coefficient; t = value of t-test statistic; ΔF = change in F; ΔR2 = change in R2; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01,
***p < 0.001.

Table 4. Hierarchical linear regression analysis of phubbing behavior.

Variable Beta t p ΔF R2 ΔR2

Step 1 3.103* 0.007 0.007

Sex 0.082 2.393 < 0.05
Age 0.016 0.464 > 0.05
Step 2 780.243*** 0.479 0.472
Smartphone addiction 0.688 27.933 < 0.001
Step 3 10.069*** 0.497 0.018
Self-control 0.014 0.510 > 0.05
Sense of security 0.122 4.105 < 0.001
Depression 0.045 1.547 > 0.05
Step 4 9.704*** 0.508 0.011
Interpersonal adaptability 0.139 4.126 < 0.001
Social anxiety 0.011 0.349 > 0.05
Notes: Dependent variable = phubbing behavior; Males were coded as 0, and females as 1; Beta = regression
coefficient; t = value of t-test statistic; ΔF = change in F; ΔR2 = change in R2; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

smartphone addiction is positively associated with phubbing behavior. Furthermore,

the results suggest that the two behavioral problems may have different correlates.
Specifically, self-control and sense of security may be protective factors, and phubbing
behavior, depression, and social anxiety may be risk factors for smartphone addiction.
Lai et al. 11

Furthermore, female sex and smartphone addiction may be risk factors, and sense of
security and interpersonal adaptability may be protective factors for phubbing. The
results partially support the hypotheses.

The Association Between Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing

Behavior
Correlation analyses and regression analyses showed positive correlations between
smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior. The results are consistent with findings from
other cross-sectional studies of undergraduates in other cultures (Davey et al., 2018;
Ivanova et al., 2020; Karadağ, et al., 2015). Furthermore, a recent systematic review
highlighted that smartphone/Internet addiction is one of four types of determinants of
phubbing (Nazir & Bulut, 2019). Besides, some phubbing scales have included smartphone
addiction as one of the dimensions (Karadağ et al., 2015; Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas,
2018). Our results also support a recommendation from previous research that phubbing
behavior can be greatly reduced by preventing or reducing smartphone addiction
(Chatterjee, 2020). However, we found different risk and protective correlates of smart-
phone addiction and phubbing behavior. This could perhaps be attributed to smartphone
addiction inciting a higher frequency of phubbing behavior but not representing phubbing
behavior in all circumstances (Nazir & Bulut, 2019).

The Risk Factors for Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing Behavior

In addition to phubbing behavior, negative personal and social emotions (depression
and social anxiety) were identified as risk factors in smartphone addiction. These
factors may provide empirical evidence to support the use of social cognitive theory
(Bandura, 1986) to understand health-risk behaviors; this theory asserts that behavior is
both the prerequisite and outcome of emotions. It seems clear that smartphone addiction
is closely linked to one’s emotional and mental health status. Some researchers have
illustrated that depression, which causes a series of negative perceptions and
experience—such as a sense of inferiority—often leads people to adopt avoidance
coping behaviors and to rely on smartphones to cope with their emotional problems or
build supportive social relationships (Abdollah & Mansour, 2015; Yen et al., 2009).
That is, depression may be a source of risk for problematic smartphone use among
college students (Tao et al., 2017). Similarly, people who become anxious during social
interactions are more prone to smartphone addiction, as they pay more attention to
adverse consequences in interpersonal communication and thus tend to defer to online
interactions to avoid stress (Chen et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2014). Some researchers have
argued that dependence on smartphones may have a short-term effect in terms of
alleviating social anxiety (Darcin et al., 2016); however, it is worth noting that such
dependence may in turn cause greater interpersonal problems in real life (Chen et al.,
2016). The link between these emotional problems and smartphone addiction can be
buffered by mindfulness-based interventions that emphasize the present-moment
12 Psychological Reports 0(0)

experience (Yang et al., 2019), or addressed using interpersonal problem-solving

interventions (Chen et al., 2016). Such interventions may be useful to help college
students to reduce smartphone addiction in a practical sense.
The present study is consistent with previous findings that females are at higher risk of
phubbing behavior; indeed, male–female differences do exist in smartphone usage pur-
poses or motivations that females are more likely to use a smartphone to maintain their
interpersonal relationships (Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas, 2016; Karadağ et al., 2015,
2016; Mok et al., 2014; Van Deursen et al., 2015). Females tend to access social media on
their phones for chatting, sending messages, and blogging (Carbonell et al., 2018; Sohn
et al., 2019), which may increase their phubbing behavior in the era of mobile com-
munication (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019; Gong et al., 2019; Karadağ et al., 2015).

The Protective Factors for Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing Behavior

Self-control can help people control their impulsive behaviors; thus, self-control is
considered a protective factor of smartphone addiction, as well as other addictive
behaviors, such as substance dependence (Billieux et al., 2008). Chotpitayasunondh
and Douglas (2016) found that individuals with a lack of self-control find it difficult to
regulate their smartphone use and are more likely to suffer from smartphone addiction
and eventually display phubbing behavior. Therefore, establishing appropriate rules for
smartphone use, and cultivating and training self-control ability, may effectively
prevent or reduce the occurrence of smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior
(Billieux et al., 2008; Chatterjee, 2020).
This study is the first to investigate the relationship between sense of security and
phubbing behavior. The negative association found suggests that a sense of security can
provide feelings of safety and self-efficacy during social interactions (Maslow et al.,
1945), thus reducing smartphone addiction and phubbing. We can explain with the
attachment theory that individuals also develop attachments to non-human objects
(e.g., smartphone) in order to obtain a feeling of security (Parent & Shapka, 2020).
Moreover, insecure attachment styles are found to be linked to smartphone addiction
(Jin et al., 2017). In other words, college students’ attachment to their mobile phones is
an adaptive strategy and provides a secure base, but for the long-term, it causes
problematic smartphone use and increases their insecurity and distress of social in-
teraction in real life (Parent & Shapka, 2020). Hence, it is necessary to take measures to
improve their psychological security such as carrying out growth group counseling
instead of acquiescing in them sinking into smartphones.
This study is also the first to test the role of interpersonal adaptability in phubbing.
Interpersonal adaptability is an important aspect of adjustment to college life and can
significantly influence college students’ mental health (Darling et al., 2007; Luhmann
et al., 2012). Specifically, college students with poor interpersonal adaptability find it
more difficult to actively respond to their surroundings and thus tend to expand their
social network via their smartphones to satisfy their social needs (Zhang et al., 2020).
Moreover, people who spend a great deal of time on their smartphones and in the virtual
Lai et al. 13

world may be more likely to have impaired social skills and increased difficulties in
adjusting to new environments (Chen et al., 2016). There is a need to emphasize
cognitive and emotional interventions for students with interpersonal problems. For
example, correcting unreasonable cognitive beliefs about social occasions was sug-
gested (You et al., 2019).

Strengths, Limitations, and Implications

Studies have suggested that further empirical research on the factors responsible for the
emerging health concern related to the use of digital devices, such as smartphones, and
related addiction and phubbing behavior is warranted (Chotpitayasunondh & Douglas,
2016; Chatterjee, 2020; Fischer-Grote et al., 2019). The present study is the first to test
both problems and the general and specific factors affecting them. Results suggest that
although the two problems are correlated, they may be affected by different factors.
The study is subject to several limitations that can be addressed in future work. First,
the convenience sampling only in one university and a relatively low proportion of
returned questionnaires (80.2%) may have restricted generalization of our results; self-
reported data might have entailed reporting bias due to social desirability. Second, the
gender-imbalanced dataset may have affected the results of the study. A larger sample
of participants should be recruited while ensuring that male subjects are adequately
represented (Al-Saggaf & O’Donnell, 2019). Third, the cross-sectional study design
meant that we could not establish causal relationships among the variables. Finally,
some risk and protective factors were not included in the present study, such as
motivations and purposes of smartphone use and personality factors (Khang et al.,
2013; Liu et al., 2017). These factors should be included in future work.
Current research helps find out why some Chinese college students are addicted to
their phones or desperately use mobile phones in social situations. Based on the fact that
college students spend most of their time in school, for potentially dangerous groups,
teachers should proactively offer smartphone and media literacy education (Buscha &
McCarthyb, 2020; Ergün et al., 2020; Isrofin & Munawaroh, 2021); when facing
individuals with poor self-regulation or psychological and emotional problems, there
would be a need for psychological providers to address these underlying problems
instead of just focusing on phone symptoms themselves (Bianchi & Phillips, 2005);
when the point is interpersonal difficulties, we need to provide students with adaptive
intervention strategies which can encourage them to rebuild real-life social connections
(Long et al., 2016).

Conclusions
As increasing numbers of people are displaying emerging smartphone addiction and
phubbing behavior, our research examined and distinguished smartphone addiction and
phubbing behavior by identifying their specific risk and protective correlates. These
factors can be applied to design prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies
14 Psychological Reports 0(0)

against smartphone addiction and phubbing behavior (Balogun & Olatunde, 2020;
Bulut & Nazir, 2020; Isrofin & Munawaroh, 2021).

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
This research was funded by the Youth Project of National Social Science Foundation of China
[Grant No. CBA170257].

ORCID iD
Guohua Zhang  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2743-3167

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