The Relationship Among Anxiety, Depression, andProblematic Smartphone Use in University Students:The Mediating Effect of Psychological Inflexibility

Abstract

Objective: The number of studies that reveal the relationship between problematic smartphone use(PSU) and various health problems is increasing. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationshipamong PSU, depression, and anxiety and the mediating effect of psychological inflexibility (PI) in thisrelationship in university students.Methods: This study was conducted with 412 university students aged between 18-35 years studyingat a state university. All participants completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, Beck De pression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version. PROCESSmacro in SPSS was used for mediation analysis.Results: Our analyses showed that both depression and anxiety were independent predictors of PSUeven after controlling for each other. Our findings show that PI is the mediator variable in the effectof depression and anxiety on PSU.Conclusion: Mental health professionals working with problematic smartphone use among universi ty students should consider psychological inflexibility as well as depression and anxiety.