ArticleBMC psychiatry2016
Self-control and problematic mobile phone use in Chinese college students: the mediating role of mobile phone use patterns.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The mediating role of self-control between physical activity and mobile phone addiction in adolescents: a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The relationship between childhood trauma and internet addiction in adolescents: A meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2024Pooled it
- The associations between smartphone addiction and self-esteem, self-control, and social support among Chinese adolescents: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Mobile Phone Use and Mental Health. A Review of the Research That Takes a Psychological Perspective on Exposure.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Pooled it
- Trialing a simple mobile phone dependency intervention strategy among Chinese college students.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The Influence of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Craving Degree for University Students with Mobile Phone Dependency: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Network analysis of smartphone addiction, attentional control, and learning adaptation among nursing undergraduates.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Nature Exposure and Problematic Smartphone Use Among Chinese High School Students: The Mediating Roles of Anxiety and Self-Control.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Assessing mobile phone attachment: a psychometric study in the Portuguese young adult population.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2026Article
- Social media fatigue in nursing students: the role of self-control, social comparison, and fear of missing out.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Smartphone addiction and self-esteem among university students: a moderated mediation and latent profile analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Loneliness, problematic digital media use, and nutritional-metabolic vulnerability in adolescents from single-parent households: an integrative review of eating- and sleep-related pathways.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Exploring the influence of problematic smartphone use on physical activity: chain mediation of Self-Control and Exercise Procrastination and moderation by Independent and Interdependent Self-Construal.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between latent profile-based physical exercise and academic burnout in college students: the mediating roles of self-control and problematic smartphone use.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Parental psychological control and smartphone addiction in Chinese college students: the moderated mediation roles of self-control and achievement motivation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between physical exercise and mobile phone dependence in college students: the chain mediating of self-control and social adaptability.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Temporal distortion may mediate the association between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting: An experimental study.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Smartphone addiction affects life satisfaction among Chinese university students: the serial mediation effects of social anxiety for social media users and mental well-being.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The bidirectional associations between smartphone multitasking and anxiety symptoms among Chinese college students.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the popularity of mobile phones, problematic mobile phone use is getting increasing attention in recent years. Although self-control was found to be a critical predictor of problematic mobile phone use, no study has ever explored the association between self-control and mobile phone use patterns as well as the possible pathway how self-control affects problematic mobile phone use.
methodsFour hundred sixty-eight college students were randomly selected in this study. Data were collected using the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale, the Self-Control Scale, and the Mobile Phone Use Pattern Questionnaire. Statistical tests were conducted to identify the potential role of mobile phone use patterns in the association between self-control and problematic mobile phone use.
resultsIn this sample, female students displayed significant higher mobile phone dependence than males. Self-control was negatively correlated with interpersonal, transaction and entertainment mobile phone use patterns, but positively correlated with information seeking use pattern. Self-control could predict problematic mobile phone use directly and indirectly via interpersonal and transaction patterns.
conclusionsOur research provided additional evidence for the negative association between self-control and problematic mobile phone use. Moreover, interpersonal and transaction use patterns played a mediating role in this link.
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