Exploring the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation and Distress Intolerance in the Relationship Between Social Anxiety and Problematic Smartphone Use: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Aims: An increasing body of research has demonstrated significant relations between social anxiety and problematic smartphone use (PSU). While some cognitive and affective mechanisms, such as poor emotion regulation, have been explored as mediating variables explaining these relations, there is less known about the role of distress intolerance. Our study explored the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies (expressive suppression and cognitive appraisal) and distress intolerance between social anxiety and PSU severity using structural equation modeling (SEM). We built our research model based upon the framework of the Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) theoretical model of Internet use disorders. Methods: Our sample included 308 undergraduate students aged 18-25 who completed a series of self-report measures. Results: SEM results revealed that only expressive suppression significantly mediated the relationship between social anxiety and PSU severity. Conclusion: Results support prior research that poor emotion regulation skills serve as an underlying mechanism between psychopathology and PSU. Individuals with social anxiety are more likely to engage in expressive suppression, and therefore PSU. Clinical implications include the need to explore the emotional regulation mechanism underlying the relationship between social anxiety and vulnerability to engage in maladaptive behaviors such as PSU.