Excessive reassurance seeking mediates relations between rumination and problematic smartphone use

Jon D Elhai^{1

2}, Dmitri Rozgonjuk³, Ahmad M Alghraibeh⁴, Jason C Levine⁵, Ali A Alafnan⁶, Ahmed A Aldraiweesh⁴, Suliman S Aljomaa⁶, Brian J Hall⁷

Affiliations

¹ Visiting professor, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, Republic of China.
² Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
³ Postdoctoral researcher, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
⁴ Associate professor, Educational Technology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Associate professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
⁶ Associate professor, Department of Psychology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Associate professor, University of Macau, Macau, Republic of China.

PMID: 32196377
DOI: 10.1521/bumc_2020_84_07

Excessive reassurance seeking mediates relations between rumination and problematic smartphone use

Jon D Elhai et al. Bull Menninger Clin. 2020 Spring.

. 2020 Spring;84(2):137-155.

doi: 10.1521/bumc_2020_84_07. Epub 2020 Mar 20.

Authors

Jon D Elhai^{1

2}, Dmitri Rozgonjuk³, Ahmad M Alghraibeh⁴, Jason C Levine⁵, Ali A Alafnan⁶, Ahmed A Aldraiweesh⁴, Suliman S Aljomaa⁶, Brian J Hall⁷

Affiliations

¹ Visiting professor, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, Republic of China.
² Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
³ Postdoctoral researcher, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
⁴ Associate professor, Educational Technology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Associate professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
⁶ Associate professor, Department of Psychology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Associate professor, University of Macau, Macau, Republic of China.

PMID: 32196377
DOI: 10.1521/bumc_2020_84_07

Abstract

Aside from depression and anxiety, less is known about the relationship of problematic smartphone use (PSU) to other psychopathology- related variables. The authors' aim was to test previously neglected variables in relation to PSU: rumination and excessive reassurance seeking behavior (ERSB). The authors recruited 295 college students for a web-based survey of smartphone use frequency, PSU, depression and anxiety, ruminative thinking, and ERSB. The authors tested linear regression and mediation models, assessing rumination and ERSB as mediating associations between depression/anxiety severity with PSU, adjusting for age, sex, and smartphone use frequency. Results demonstrate that ERSB was significantly related to PSU severity, and ERSB mediated the association between rumination and PSU. Furthermore, the combination of rumination and ERSB mediated relations between both depression and anxiety severity with PSU. Results provide evidence for ERSB as an important variable in understanding relationships between psychopathology symptoms and PSU severity among college students.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; excessive reassurance seeking; rumination; smartphone addiction.

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Excessive reassurance seeking mediates relations between rumination and problematic smartphone use

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Excessive reassurance seeking mediates relations between rumination and problematic smartphone use

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