ENGL 1302 Synthesis Worksheet

Instructions: Use this chart to help you map the exact areas in which your peer reviewed sources
present similarities and differences, overlap or divergence, and agreements and disagreements in
your research area. Make sure to include proper citations with specific information that you
quote or paraphrase from your sources in each category row.

Exhibit Among the sources that used a cross-sectional study design, Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) was
Overlap the most commonly used survey to determine the presence of smartphone addiction:

● Abuhamdah and Naser (2)

● Chen, et al. (3)
● Kuru and Çelenk (160)
● Mohamed, et al. (3)
● Squires, et al (1290-1)

Exhibit Although all sources conduct cross-sectional studies and collect self-reported data through surveys, the
Differences primary difference between exhibits lies in whether they present their results as a concrete percentage
or a statement that establishes mediating and/or moderating relationships:

● Abdumbah and Naser – They primarily present their results as percentages since they aimed to
establish the prominence and severity of psychological disorder and smartphone use in their
study’s participants (2). For instance, they express how “[m]ore than half of the study
participants (59.1%) had a psychological distress score of 30 and above, which indicates a
severe mental disorder” and “…56.7% of the participants had a smartphone addiction score of
30 and above” (3-4).
● Chen, et al. - When reporting their results, they state “ The results indicated that smartphone
addiction was present in 429 (29.8%) of the 1441 participants, and the prevalence of
smartphone addiction was 30.3% in males, and 29.3% in females” (3).
● Ercengiz, et al. – For instance, Ercengiz, et al. state “the direct effect between differentiation of
self and nomophobia was statistically significant. However, the direct effect between emotion
management skills and nomophobia was not. When the total effect coefficients are examined,
it can be seen that both the total effect between differentiation of self and nomophobia and
the total effect between emotion management skills and nomophobia were statistically
significant” (8).
● Kuru and Çelenk – For instance, they state that “the correlation analysis showed SPAS-SV to
be positively associated with AAQ-II (r = 0.265, P < .001), BDI (r = 0.254, P < .001), and BAI
(r = 0.250, P < .001)” (161).
● Liu, et al. – They state: “it can be found that in pre-intervention, the mindfulness level of
college students was negatively correlated with smartphone addiction (r = —.30, p < .05), and
was positively correlated with self-control (r = .51, p < .01)… In post intervention, the
mindfulness level was positively correlated with self-control (r = .35, p < .01)” (5-6).
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● Mohamed, et al. – For instance, after discussing the number of students who experience social
anxiety and smartphone addiction, they state that an “analysis of variance (ANOVA)
test…[demonstrated] that the severity of smartphone addiction is highly related to the severity
of social phobia scores” in female college students (5).
● Squires, et al. – For instance, they state, “significant positive associations were identified
between psychological distress and problematic smartphone use, c = .110, t (192) = 4.24, p <
.001; between psychological distress and emotion dysregulation, a = .411, t (192) = 15.50, p <
.001; and between emotion dysregulation and problematic smartphone use after controlling for
psychological distress, b = .230, t (192) = 3.30, p = .001” (1291).
● Yang, et al. – For example, the scholars note that“the interaction terms of perceived social
support and self-compassion significantly negatively predicted mobile phone addiction (β =
−0.09, t = −2.69, p < 0.01)” (6).
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Method Most sources conduct cross-sectional studies and use self-reported data from surveys to investigate the
Overlap prevalence smartphone use in college students at a particular moment in time:

● Abuhamdah and Naser – Because the scholars wanted to account for the prevalence and
severity of psychological distress and smartphone addiction among university students,
collecting self-reported data through an online questionnaire was the most efficient method to
gain concrete, statistical results (2). This allows the scholars to relate statistics to relevant
patterns within their study’s population: “The findings revealed that mental disorders are a
serious public health issue in Jordan, with a high prevalence among university students. The
stigma surrounding seeking help for mental distress contributes to the increased prevalence of
mental disorders in this population” (7).
● Chen, et al. – The researchers aimed to identify differences between the prevalence of phone
addiction between genders (2). Similar to Abuhamdah and Naser, a cross-sectional study using
surveys allowed them to gather data for each gender and compare it using statistical analyses
(3).
● Ercengiz, et al. - These scholars used a cross-sectional study with surveys as their primary data
source to collect data regarding multiple aspects of mental health, including “differentiation of
self,” “emotion dysregulation,” and “intolerance of uncertainty,” and statistically compare the
relationship between those variables individually and collectively compared to smartphone
anxiety (3).
● Kuru and Çelenk - Similar to other studies which aim to establish relationships, this method of
data collection served as a simple way to compare various variables. In this study, the scholars
compared 3 aspects of mental health using surveys and related them to each other and
Smartphone Addiction Scale scores (160).
● Mohamed, et al. - The purpose of this study was to discover the pervasiveness of, and potential
link between, social anxiety and phone dependence in female university students (7). Using
surveys allowed them to account for not only the severity of both factors, but also the statistical
correlation between them to establish relationships (3-4)
● Squires, et al. – Collecting self-reported data through surveys helped quantify how students
cope with their thoughts and feelings; they could then compare it to their mobile phone
addiction severity through statistical analysis (1291).
● Yang, et al. – The researchers aimed to expand an already-existing model discussing
relationships between how one interprets and copes with their environment; surveys with
numerical results allowed them to create slope analysis charts that, if intersecting, suggest
relationships between mobile phone addiction and various variables (7).
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Method Differences exist between the scholars analyzing the mediating and moderating relationships between
Differences smartphone use and various mental health characteristics; to develop their hypotheses and/or results,
while others simply present results through one of the following analyses: mediation and moderation
analyses, analyses of variance, and coefficient analyses

● Ercengiz, et al. – They include 3 figures within their ‘aims’ sub-section of their Background
section to help novice researchers visualize their hypothesis: “[T]he mediating and moderating
roles of intolerance of uncertainty on two hypothesized predictors of nomophobia (i.e.,
self-differentiation and emotional management skills)” model direct and indirect correlations
the relationships (5).
● Kuru and Çelenk – In the Results section, Kuru and Çelenk include a “Mediational Design”
flowchart that develops the results of their mediation analysis: “When PI was included in the
model, the effect of BAI on SPAS-SV was reduced but was still statistically significant (path c’
or direct effect…)” (161).
● Liu, et al. – The following paragraph demonstrates the relevance of mediation analysis in this
study: “Further analysis found that after the mediating variable entered the equation, the
indirect effect Bootstrap 95% CI [0.490, 7.216] did not contain 0, which indicated that
self-control had a mediating effect between mindfulness intervention and problematic
smartphone use; besides, the direct effect Bootstrap 95% CI [-0.700, 6.445] contained 0, which
indicated that the influence of mindfulness intervention on problematic smartphone use was
completely explained by the mediating effect of self-control, that is, self-control had a complete
mediating effect between mindfulness intervention and problematic smartphone use” (7).
● Mohamed, et al. – They determined a relationship between social anxiety and smartphone
dependence levels: “Using analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to determine relation between
social phobia and smartphone in the whole sample, it shows that the severity of smartphone
addiction is highly related to the severity of social phobia scores, with a highly statistically
significant difference…” (5).
● Squires, et al. – They use a “mediation model” and “indirect effect” diagram to demonstrate the
results of their bivariate correlation analysis and mediation analysis: “a bootstrapped mediation
analysis with 5000 iterations revealed that the correlation between psychological distress and
problematic smartphone use was atemporally mediated by emotion dysregulation when gender
and age were included as covariates” (1291, 1293).
● Yang, et al. – They present three figures at the end of their introduction to visually model their
hypotheses, which were later supported by their results (4, ). The following are the results of
their ‘Moderated Mediation Model Test:’ “After including depressive symptoms as a mediator
variable, perceived social support significantly negatively predicted depressive symptoms…,
and depressive symptoms significantly positively predicted mobile phone addiction” (5-6).
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Claim Sources studying correlations between psychological and social health and excessive smartphone use
Agreements generally correlated poor health with increases in phone use, while positive aspects of wellness
demonstrated decreases in phone use:

● Ercengiz, et al. – In their discussion, they claim that being able to regulate thoughts and
feelings was not important in preventing nomophobia unless an individual has a weak sense of
self; furthermore, they argued that anxious individuals do not cope with stress effectively,
which makes them prone to developing smartphone anxiety (10-11).
● Kuru and Çelenk – They argue that characteristics of mental rigidity make students more
susceptible to developing an addiction (162). For example, they state that [Psychological
Inflexibility] is a model in which behaviors are excessively controlled by the individual’s
thoughts, emotions, and other internal experiences where these experiences are avoided at the
expense of the cost of more effective and meaningful actions, [so it] is seen to overlap very well
with addiction” (162)
● Liu, et al. – They argue that encouraging students’ conscious awareness reduces their boundless
phone usage (9-10). For instance, they state how their research discovered that “[A] brief
mindfulness intervention would improve the self-control ability of college students, that is, it
could enhance the activity of the self-control system and avoid the influence of psychological
and behavioral impulses” (9).
● Mohamed, et al. – For instance, after discussing the number of students who experience social
anxiety and smartphone addiction, they state that an “analysis of variance (ANOVA)
test…[demonstrated] that the severity of smartphone addiction is highly related to the severity
of social phobia scores” in female college students (5).
● Squires, et al. – The scholars use Billieux’s Impulse Pathway to argue that increases in
characteristics of depression, stress, and anxiety result in a lower ability to regulate one’s
emotions, which increases smartphone dependence (1293-4).
● Yang, et al. – The scholars argue that the assumed strength of one’s support systems is inversely
correlated with indications of depression, and, as symptoms of depression increase, so does
smartphone dependence (8). They elaborate on this claim by stating how “results indicated that
self-compassion moderates the direct path from social support to mobile phone addiction…
[F]or those with low self-compassion, perceived social support increased the risk of mobile
phone addiction, while for those with high self-compassion, the relation between them became
nonsignificant….” (9).
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Claim Scholars address the controversy in current literature regarding whether excessive smartphone use and
Disagreements the behaviors associated with it constitutes an addiction; the differences in stance between the scholars
is even noticeable in their titles:

● Abuhamdah and Naser – These scholars acknowledge the behaviors associated with
smartphone dependence as an addiction (2). This is evident when they state: “Addiction to
smartphones is classified clinically as behavioral addiction result[ing] from an excessive
problematic usage of smartphones that affect the daily life of the users leading to (inoccupation,
compulsive behavior, control deficiency, functional deterioration, deprivation, and tolerance)”
(2).
● Mohamed, et al. – These scholars refer to excessive smartphone use as an addiction:
“Smartphone addiction is considered as one form of technological addictions… Smartphone
addiction consists of four main components: compulsive behaviors, tolerance, withdrawal, and
functional impairment” (2).
● Squires, et al. – Although these scholars establish that others in the field have used describes
phone overuse as an “addiction,” these scholars elaborate on the current debate by stating
describing how “researchers have been cautious to label other behaviours such as problematic
smartphone use as ‘addictive’ to avoid overpathologizing everyday behaviours and to avoid
trivializing the seriousness of established addictions (1285-6).

Common Researchers discuss the widespread nature of smartphones in society and emphasize the health harms
Topics associated with smartphone use:

● Kuru and Çelenk – The scholars state that “the number of smartphone users worldwide
exceeded 3 billion in 2019” (1). Additionally, they cite a longitudinal study where researchers
“found a relationship between smartphone use intensity and depression symptoms,” which is
relevant to their research that aims to find correlations between diminished mental health and
smartphone overuse (2).
● Liu, et al. – To emphasize the existing literature regarding mindfulness, the researchers
concisely list a few health effects (2). For instance, they state how “problematic use of
smartphones can cause physical and mental health symptoms (e.g., decline in academic
performance, interpersonal communication barriers, even threaten their life safety) for college
students…” (2).
● Mohamed, et al. – These scholars define social anxiety and smartphone addiction and elaborate
on studies which relate these factors to other harmful mental and physical conditions and
behaviors (2). For instance, they cite a study that notes how “holding a smartphone for a long
time may cause musculoskeletal complications and smartphone addiction” (2)
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● Yang, et al. – The scholars zero in on literature that discusses smartphone use in terms of the
three aspects of social and mental health that they are analyzing: “
● Squires, et al. – They use a variety of sources to emphasize the prevalence of excessive phone
use: “Statistics Canada (2017) reported that in 2016, 76% of Canadians owned a smartphone
with 94% ownership in the 15–34 age bracket” (1285). Additionally, they cite multitudes of
studies that link “problematic smartphone use severity… with symptoms of depression and
anxiety (for reviews, see Elhai et al. 2017, 2019a; Vahedi and Saiphoo 2018), loneliness (Bian
and Leung 2015; Mahapatra 2019; Darcin et al. 2016), low social support (Herrero et al. 2019),
family conflict (Mahapatra 2019), sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality (Demirci et al.
2015; Lemola et al. 2015; Thomée et al. 2011)” and more (1285).

Distinct Topics Even though the scholars exemplify the potential negative effects of using smartphones in excess,
some address these health effects more briefly than others:

● Kuru and Çelenk – The scholars state that “the number of smartphone users worldwide
exceeded 3 billion in 2019” (1). Additionally, they cite a longitudinal study where researchers
“found a relationship between smartphone use intensity and depression symptoms,” which is
relevant to their research that aims to find correlations between diminished mental health and
smartphone overuse (2).
● Liu, et al. – To emphasize the existing literature regarding mindfulness, the researchers quickly
list a few health effects (2). For instance, they state how “problematic use of smartphones can
cause physical and mental health symptoms (e.g., decline in academic performance,
interpersonal communication barriers, even threaten their life safety) for college students” (2).
● Mohamed, et al. – These scholars define social anxiety and smartphone addiction and elaborate
on studies which relate these factors to other harmful mental and physical conditions and
behaviors (2). For instance, they cite a study that notes how “holding a smartphone for a long
time may cause musculoskeletal complications and smartphone addiction” (2)
● Yang, et al. – The scholars zero in on literature that discusses smartphone use in terms of the
three aspects of social and mental health that they are analyzing: “
● Squires, et al. – They use a variety of sources to emphasize the prevalence of excessive phone
use: “Statistics Canada (2017) reported that in 2016, 76% of Canadians owned a smartphone
with 94% ownership in the 15–34 age bracket” (1285). Additionally, they cite multitudes of
studies that link “problematic smartphone use severity… with symptoms of depression and
anxiety (for reviews, see Elhai et al. 2017, 2019a; Vahedi and Saiphoo 2018), loneliness (Bian
and Leung 2015; Mahapatra 2019; Darcin et al. 2016), low social support (Herrero et al. 2019),
family conflict (Mahapatra 2019), sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality (Demirci et al.
2015; Lemola et al. 2015; Thomée et al. 2011)” and more (1285).
 ENGL 1302 Synthesis Worksheet

Common Scholars in this field commonly use sources that include researchers Thomee, et al.; Demirci, et al; and
Sources Elhai, et al. to demonstrate how increases in phone use are related to increases in emotional distress:

● Abuhamdah and Naser – This scholar defines smartphone addiction according to a study by
Elhai, et al.: “The term “smartphone addiction” refers to a phenomenon in which individuals
display excessive, compulsive, or harmful behaviors associated with their utilization of
smartphones” (2).
● Chen, et al. – These scholars use Thomee, et al. and Demirci, et al. to note the correlations
between characteristics of emotional health and smartphone use: “the study found that age,
depression, and extraversion were predictors of higher scores on level of problematic mobile
phone use. In another study conducted on smartphone users, anxiety and depression were found
to be higher in groups that over-used smartphones than in normal user groups” (2).
● Ercengiz, et al. – These scholars use a study by Demirci, et al. to establish that mentally ill
individuals use phones to cope with their emotions when stressed or faced with unpredictability
(2). For instance they state, “smartphones can be seen as a means of escape from the problems
of the real world for people who have emotional difficulties…” (4).
● Liu, et al. – To develop their claim that mindfulness can reduce excessive smartphone
dependence, they cite a study by Elhai, et al.: “For example, Elhai recruited 261 college
students for a repeated-measures web survey, and found that mindfulness was inversely
associated with levels of problematic smartphone use” (2).

Two scholars use Compensatory Internet Use Theory to support their claim that people use their
smartphones to cope with a lacking aspect of their mental or social health:

● Squires, et al. – These scholars claim that individuals may try to cope with “negative feelings
influenced by external factors” through smartphone use according to this theory (Squires, et al.
1294).
● negative feelings influenced by external factors
● Yang, et al. – These scholars use this theory to rationalize that people may resort to mobile
phone use to cope with “unmet social needs” (2).

Distinct Scholars use a variety of theories to support their results that relate aspects of social and mental health
Sources to smartphone addiction:

● Yang, et al – These scholars use “Cognitive-behavioral theory,” “compensatory theory,”

“general strain theory,” and the “Stress buffer hypothesis” to establish correlations between
self-compassion, psychological distress, perceived social support, and mobile phone addiction
(3, 8-9) For instance, they state, “[a]ccording to the stress buffer hypothesis, favorable
individual factors can mitigate the effect of stress on a person’s bad mental and behavioral
outcomes [48]. This study suggests that self-compassion, one of the positive psychological
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qualities, could buffer the adverse effects of interpersonal stress, i.e., lack of social resources on
these outcomes (9).
● Squires, et al. – These scholars use “Griffiths Addiction Model,” “Billieux’s Impulse
Pathway,” and “Brand’s Person-Affect- Cognition-Execution model” to update the existing
literature regarding correlations between maladaptive behaviors–specifically phone
overuse–and emotional compensation (1287, 1293-4).