ArticlePloS one2026
The association between smartphone addiction and self-esteem among physical education undergraduate students: The chain-mediating roles of professional identity and meaning in life.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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4 authors.
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Abstract
This study investigated the associations between smartphone addiction and self-esteem among undergraduate Physical Education students, focusing on the mediating roles of professional identity and meaning in life. A total of 695 undergraduate students majoring in Physical Education were recruited through a convenience sampling method from a sports university in Beijing. Participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale, the Professional Identity Scale for Pre-service Teachers, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted in Mplus 8.3 to test multiple and chain mediation effects. Model fit indices indicated an acceptable fit (χ²/df = 4.43, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08). The results showed that smartphone addiction was significantly and negatively associated with professional identity (β = -0.42, 95% CI [-0.51, -0.32], p < 0.001) and meaning in life (β = -0.29, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.19], p < 0.001), both of which were positively associated with self-esteem (professional identity: β = 0.36, 95% CI [0.25, 0.46], p < 0.001; meaning in life: β = 0.31, 95% CI [0.21, 0.42], p < 0.001). Smartphone addiction was also directly and negatively associated with self-esteem (β = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.37, -0.18], p < 0.001). Mediation analyses further indicated that professional identity and meaning in life independently and sequentially mediated this association, forming a significant chain-mediating pathway (total indirect effect = -0.047, 95% CI [-0.071, -0.029]). The final model accounted for 38.2% of the variance in self-esteem (R² = 0.382). These findings highlight the psychological mechanisms linking smartphone addiction and self-esteem, offering evidence-based implications for interventions addressing smartphone overuse among Physical Education undergraduates.
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