The roles of Hong Kong adolescents' school belongingness, self-efficacy, and trait mindfulness on the relationship between perceived stress and smartphone addiction : a structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

Smartphone addiction in Hong Kong adolescents has been on the rise. While perceived stress has been known to be an important factor contributing to smartphone addiction, the psychological mechanisms remained rather unknown. The present study identified psychological mechanisms that explain the relationships between perceived stress and smartphone addiction in Hong Kong adolescents using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. A sample of 521 adolescents (aged 12 to 19) currently studying in secondary school in Hong Kong completed a set of self-report questionnaires, namely the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI), the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM), the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSS), and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). More than half of the participants were at risk or at diagnosable levels of smartphone addiction. Additionally, the results from the SEM model showed that the direct effect of perceived stress on smartphone addiction was significant. Results also revealed that school belongingness, self-efficacy, and trait mindfulness played important roles in smartphone addiction as these psychological mechanisms had significant mediating effects in the relationship between perceived stress and smartphone addiction. The overall results were in line with our hypotheses and shed light on potential intervention points that can be carried out by schools to mitigate the rising trend of smartphone addiction among Hong Kong adolescents. Our findings, clinical implications, and possible directions for future studies were further discussed.