The paradox of phone attachment: Development and validation of the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale (YAPS)

The smartphone as a "significant other": interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use

Smartphones are increasingly widespread throughout the world and, although smartphones provide various benefits, excessive and maladaptive use is often reported. Given the penetration of smartphones in the individual's daily life, it is relevant to identify the mechanisms sustaining their use, including the affective bond that the owner may develop with the device. The aim of the current study is to test a novel model to explain smartphone and Social Network Sites (SNS) use from an interpersonal perspective. We hypothesized that adult attachment style and interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency) generalize to the emotional bond with the mobile device, interacting with psychological correlates and background factors to predict smartphone and SNS consumption. 341 nonclinical adults (57.2% females; age M = 35.5, SD = 14.6) completed a battery consisting of the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Relationship Profile Test, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale, and the Social Network Intensity and Social Network Access via Mobile phone Applications. A multi-mediation model supported the hypothesis regarding the influence of interpersonal style in the relationship of the individual with their smartphone and use of SNS. A parallel between attachment style and the emotional bond with the smartphone emerged, with anxious attachment style and destructive overdependence being potential risk factors for maladaptive smartphone use especially in individuals involved in a romantic relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and intervention strategies towards smartphone dependency.

College students’ attachment to their smartphones: a subjective operant approach

Background

Smartphone use has become a pervasive aspect of youth daily life today. Immersive engagement with apps and features on the smartphone may lead to intimate and affectionate human-device relationships. The purpose of this research is to holistically dissect the ranked order of the various dimensions of college students’ attachment to the smartphones through the by-person factorial analytical power of Q methodology.

Methods

Inspired by extant research into diverse aspects of human attachment to the smartphones, a concourse of 50 statements pertinent to the functional, behavioral, emotional and psychological dimensions of human-smartphone attachment were pilot tested and developed. A P sample of 67 participants completed the Q sort based on respective subjective perceptions and self-references. Data was processed utilizing the open-source Web-based Ken-Q Analysis software in detecting the main factorial structure.

Results

Five distinct factor (persona) exemplars were identified illustrating different pragmatic, cognitive and attitudinal approaches to smartphone engagement. They were labeled mainstream users, disciplined conventionalists, casual fun-seekers, inquisitive nerds, and sentient pragmatists in response to their respective psycho-behavioral traits. There were clear patterns of similarity and divergence among the five personas.

Conclusion

The typological diversity points to the multiplicate nature of human-smartphone attachment. Clusters of cognitive, behavioral and habitual patterns in smartphone engagement driving each persona may be a productive area of exploration in future research in exploring their respective emotional and other outcomes. The concurrent agency of nomophobia and anthropomorphic attribution is an intriguing line of academic inquiry.

Smartphone and the Self: Experimental Investigation of Self-Incorporation of and Attachment to Smartphones

Smartphones are a constant companion in everyday life. Interacting with a smartphone calls for a multimodal input and often leads to a multisensory output. Combining research in human-computer interaction (HCI) and psychology, the present research explored the idea that a smartphone is more than a smart object but represents an object to which people feel emotionally attached to and which is even perceived as a part or an extension of a person’s self. To this end, we used an established rubber hand illusion paradigm to experimentally induce body ownership experiences in young adults (n = 76) in a 4-level mixed-design study. Our results revealed that in contrast to a neutral control object participants indeed felt attached to a smartphone, perceived it as a part of themselves and felt the need to interact with the device. This was specifically pronounced when hedonic characteristics were evaluated as high and when its usage for social communication was highlighted during the experiment. Psychological mechanisms of the incorporation of technologies are discussed and connected to positive and negative effects of smartphone usage on human behavior, its implications for technology design and marketing.

Nomophobia in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence: the Development and Validation of a New Interactive Electronic Nomophobia Test

The widely spread dependence on smartphones by children, adolescents, and adults has shoved researchers to assess its impact on the wellbeing of individuals. Nomophobia, the fear of being out of cellular contact, was typically assessed by self-report measures or proxy measures in adolescents and older adults. The goal of the current study was to examine nomophobia in late childhood and adolescence using scenario-based vignettes that are interactively presented and mediated by computers. To fulfill this goal, the Interactive Electronic Nomophobia Test (IENT), comprising of five scenario-based vignettes, was developed and administered to 1211 students aged between 10 and 18 years and enrolled in grades 5–12. The IENT psychometric properties were examined using a series of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Additionally, the study examined the clustering nomophobia symptoms in a nationally representative sample of Omani students and explored the association of these Nomophobia symptoms with both students’ grade and gender. Results of the study provided evidence of the four-pronged structure of the IENT, and an overall all composite nomophobia score, with strong associations found among the subscales, and between each of the four subscales and Nomophobia composite score. Invariance tests found significantly different model results by gender in all cases. Finally, cluster analysis revealed two to three clusters, with significant associations between gender, class, and cluster type. Implications of the study are discussed in view of previous literature on the assessment of nomophobia and smartphone addiction.

Assessing Mobile Phone Attachment: Validation of the Mobile Attachment Questionnaire in Turkish University Students and Examination of Related Variables

The main aim of this study was to adapt the Mobile Attachment Questionnaire (MAQ) to Turkish culture. It was also aimed to investigate whether mobile phone attachment (MPA) exists in Turkish university students and whether it has the main characteristics of interpersonal attachment. This study also aimed to investigate the MPA's relationship with nomophobia, smartphone addiction and materialism, and to examine the predictive power of them on MPA. The study group consisted of a total of 242 university students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the structural validity of the MAQ-TR. The goodness of fit indices met the model fit requirements for the four-factor 13-item MAQ-TR. Reliability analyses results provided high internal consistency coefficients. Correlation analyses results showed that individuals highly attached to their phones experienced more severe symptoms of nomophobia and smartphone addiction and materialists were more likely to accept their phones as attachment object. Regression analysis showed that nomophobia, smartphone addiction and materialism were significant predictors of MPA. Given that MPA is an understudied concept, this study provides a starting point for future researches on problematic and non-problematic phone use.

Exploring the Dimensions of Smartphone Distraction: Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

Background: Distraction is a functional emotion regulation strategy utilized to relieve emotional distress. Within the attention economy perspective, distraction is increasingly associated with digital technology use, performance impairments and interference with higher-order cognitive processes. Research on smartphone distraction and its association with problematic smartphone use is still scarce and there is no available psychometric assessment tool to assess this cognitive and emotive process parsimoniously. Method: The present study reports the development and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity, gender invariance, and latent mean differences. The study was conducted in a sample of British university students (N = 1,001; M = 21.10 years, SD = 2.77). Results: The 16-item SDS was best conceptualized in a four-factor model solution comprising attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, emotion regulation, and multitasking. Construct validity was established using relevant psychosocial and mental health measures, with SDS scores being moderately associated with deficient self-regulation and problematic social media use. Gender measurement invariance was achieved at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, and latent mean differences indicated that females had significantly higher means than males across all four SDS latent factors. Discussion: The SDS presents with several strengths, including its theoretical grounding, relatively short length, and sound psychometric properties. The SDS enables the assessment of distraction, which appears to be one of the pathways to problematic smartphone use facilitating overuse and overreliance on smartphones for emotion regulation processes. The assessment of distraction in relation to problematic use in vulnerable populations may facilitate interventions that could encourage metacognition and benefit these groups by allowing sustained productivity in an increasingly disrupted work and social environment.

Drunk Texting: When the Phone Becomes a Vehicle for Emotional Dysregulation and Problematic Alcohol Use

Background: Drunk texting is an understudied phenomenon, despite its ubiquity and evidence suggesting it may be implicated in heavy drinking. Research on texting motivations and use of the phone as a tool for self-regulation also represent newly emerging areas of study. Objective/Method: The goal of the current study was to examine how drunk texting relates to drinking based on difficulties in emotional regulation and texting motivations in a sample of 2,559 women. Results: Drunk texting predicted heavy drinking. Emotional regulation difficulties (specifically, lack of access to strategies and lack of emotional clarity) predicted reliance on texting to escape as well as to facilitate self-expression. Further, indirect associations found that texting to escape strengthened the association between emotional regulation difficulties and drunk texting, while texting as a form of self-expression buffered against this association. Conclusions: These results highlight the extent to which problematic drinking and drunk texting have overlapping associations with emotional regulation, which can result from the presence of certain motivations for text messaging. Implications are discussed for interventions targeting the use of both phones and alcohol to escape, and increasing awareness of emotional states that might trigger such behavior.

The association between the Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Personality is one of the most frequently investigated variables to shed light on the putatively addictive use of the smartphone. By investigating associations between personality and individual differences in addictive smartphone use, researchers aim to understand if some personality traits predispose technology users to develop addictive behaviors. Here, based on existing empirical literature, we aimed at determining the strength of associations between Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder (SmUD) by a meta-analytic approach.

METHOD

For each Big Five personality trait, we performed a meta-analysis of correlations representing their association with SmUD. We also investigated possible publication bias and the moderating effects of age, gender, nationality, length of personality assessments, and time of publication.

RESULTS

We found n = 26 eligible studies. In line with both the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model and the framework on problematic mobile-phone use by Billieux, we observed a positive association between Neuroticism and SmUD (r = 0.25), while the association between Extraversion and SmUD was not significant. Partially in line with the aforementioned theoretical frameworks, Conscientiousness was negatively associated with SmUD (r = -0.16). Remaining traits showed smaller associations. No significant publication bias emerged. Moderator analyses showed that time of publication moderated the link between Conscientiousness and SmUD. Moreover, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness showed a heightened inverse association with SmUD among older samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The present meta-analysis provides robust empirical evidence that Big Five personality traits can help to understand individual differences in SmUD, supporting the usefulness of their assessment when planning and targeting interventions aimed at at-risk individuals.

Problematic Mobile Phone and Smartphone Use Scales: A Systematic Review

The popularity of smartphones is undeniable in nearly all facets of society. Despite the many benefits attributed to the technology, concern has grown over the potential for excessive smartphone use to become problematic in nature. Due to the growing concerns surrounding the recognized and unrecognized implications of smartphone use, great efforts have been made through research to evaluate, label and identify problematic smartphone use mostly through the development and administration of scales assessing the behavior. This study examines 78 existing validated scales that have been developed over the past 13 years to measure, identify or characterize excessive or problematic smartphone use by evaluating their theoretical foundations and their psychometric properties. Our review determined that, despite an abundance of self-report scales examining the construct, many published scales lack sufficient internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Additionally, there is a lack of research supporting the theoretical foundation of many of the scales evaluated. Future research is needed to better characterize problematic smartphone use so that assessment tools can be more efficiently developed to evaluate the behavior in order to avoid the excessive publication of seemingly redundant assessment tools.

Homo prostheticus? Intercorporeality and the emerging adult-smartphone assemblage

Purpose

Young people’s attachment to their smartphones is well-documented, with smartphones often described as prostheses. While prior studies typically assume a clear human/machine divide, this paper aims to build on posthuman perspectives, exploring intercorporeality, the blurring of human/technology boundaries, between emerging adults and their smartphones. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on assemblage theory, this interpretive study uses smartphone diaries and friendship pair/small group discussions with 27 British emerging adults.

Findings

Participants in this study are characterized ashomo prostheticus, living with and through their phones, treating them as extensions of their mind and part of their selves as they navigated between their online and offline, private and social lives.Homo prostheticuswas part of a broader assemblage or amalgamation of human and non-human components. As these components interacted with each other, the assemblage could be strengthened or weakened by various technological, personal and social factors.

Research limitations/implications

These qualitative findings are based on a particular sample at a particular point in time, within a particular culture. Further research could explore intercorporeality in human–smartphone relationships among other groups, in other cultures.

Originality/value

Although other studies have used prosthetic metaphors, this paper contributes to understanding of smartphones as aprosthesesin the lives of emerging adults, highlighting intercorporeality as a key feature ofhomo prostheticus. It also uses assemblage theory to contextualizehomo prostheticusand explores factors strengthening or weakening the broader human–smartphone assemblage.

The Psychology of Smartphone: The Development of the Smartphone Impact Scale (SIS)

Smartphones are changing lives in a number of ways. However, the psychological literature has primarily focused on smartphone overuse, neglecting the impacts that are not strictly related to problematic use. The present research was aimed to develop a comprehensive self-report scale that accounts for the cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral impacts of smartphones in everyday life-the Smartphone Impact Scale (SIS). Study 1 (N = 407) yielded a preliminary version of the scale, which was refined in Study 2 (N = 601). The SIS is a 26-item scale that measures seven dimensions of smartphone impact. Results revealed meaningful associations between its subscales, psychosocial constructs, and daily usage of smartphones and apps. The SIS broadens the view of human-smartphone interaction by extending the concept of problematic smartphone use to further dimensions (e.g., emotion regulation) and introducing a proper measurement of underinvestigated smartphone impacts (e.g., tasks support). The implications of each SIS subscale are discussed.