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The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on Problematic Smartphone Use: Comparison between Problematic and Non-Problematic Adolescent Users

Author

Listed:
  • Natalio Extremera

    (Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Cirenia Quintana-Orts

    (Department of Social, Evolutionary and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Av. Fuerzas Armadas, 21007 Huelva, Spain)

  • Nicolás Sánchez-Álvarez

    (Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

  • Lourdes Rey

    (Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain)

Abstract

Prior work has suggested that individuals with deficits in emotion regulation skills are prone to compulsive behaviour and to following maladaptive coping strategies, such as smartphone overuse, to manage negative moods. Adolescence is a vulnerable developmental stage for deficits in emotion regulation, and these are linked to excessive smartphone use. The present study is the first to examine the links between the use of specific cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies and problematic smartphone use in a sample of adolescents. A total of 845 Spanish adolescents (455 females) completed the Spanish versions of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Smartphone Addiction Scale, along with a socio-demographic survey. The adolescents were divided into two groups: Non-problematic smartphone users ( n = 491, 58.1%) and problematic smartphone users ( n = 354, 41.9%). Significant group differences were found, with the problematic users reporting significantly higher scores for all maladaptive CER strategies, including higher self-blame, rumination, blaming of others and catastrophising. The results from logistic regression analyses show that rumination, catastrophising and blaming of others were the most important variables for distinguishing between the two groups, along with gender and parental control outside the home. In summary, these findings suggest the importance of specific maladaptive CER strategies in problematic smartphone use and provide insight for relevant targets for intervention designs.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalio Extremera & Cirenia Quintana-Orts & Nicolás Sánchez-Álvarez & Lourdes Rey, 2019. "The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on Problematic Smartphone Use: Comparison between Problematic and Non-Problematic Adolescent Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:17:p:3142-:d:261903
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Siti Hajar Shahidin & Marhani Midin & Hatta Sidi & Chia Lip Choy & Nik Ruzyanei Nik Jaafar & Hajar Mohd Salleh Sahimi & Nur Aishah Che Roos, 2022. "The Relationship between Emotion Regulation (ER) and Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-26, November.
    2. Lucia Fortunato & Gianluca Lo Coco & Arianna Teti & Rubinia Celeste Bonfanti & Laura Salerno, 2023. "Time Spent on Mobile Apps Matters: A Latent Class Analysis of Patterns of Smartphone Use among Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Dong-Hyun Choi & Young-Su Jung, 2022. "Temperament, Character and Cognitive Emotional Regulation in the Latent Profile Classification of Smartphone Addiction in University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Loredana Benedetto & Simone Rollo & Anna Cafeo & Gabriella Di Rosa & Rossella Pino & Antonella Gagliano & Eva Germanò & Massimo Ingrassia, 2024. "Emotional and Behavioural Factors Predisposing to Internet Addiction: The Smartphone Distraction among Italian High School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(4), pages 1-15, March.

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