Boredom proneness and fear of missing out mediate relations between depression and anxiety with problematic smartphone use

Depression and anxiety severity are found in numerous studies to correlate with increased levels of problematic smartphone use. Yet there are less available data on other psychopathology‐related correlates of such use. Two potentially important variables related to depression and anxiety, and recently found related to problematic smartphone use severity, are boredom proneness and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Our aims were to (a) assess boredom proneness and FOMO in relation to problematic smartphone use severity and (b) assess the mediating roles of boredom proneness and FOMO in relationships between depression/anxiety severity with problematic smartphone use severity. We recruited 297 American college students for a web survey, assessing constructs including FOMO, boredom proneness, depression, anxiety, problematic smartphone use, and smartphone use frequency. We tested a structural equation model to assess relations between depression and anxiety severity with boredom proneness and FOMO, and relations between these psychopathology constructs with levels of smartphone use frequency and problematic use. Results demonstrate that FOMO was significantly related to problematic smartphone use severity. FOMO also mediated relations between boredom proneness and problematic smartphone use severity. Furthermore, boredom proneness and FOMO serially mediated relations between both depression and anxiety severity with problematic smartphone use severity. Results are discussed in the context of Compensatory Internet Use Theory and the I‐PACE model in understanding factors driving problematic smartphone use.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153150/1/hbe2159.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153150/2/hbe2159_am.pd

The role of microtransactions in Internet Gaming Disorder and Gambling Disorder: a preregistered systematic review

Recently there has been increased interest in understanding the relationship between microtransactions, gaming, and gambling. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on the relationship between microtransactions, ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD), and Gambling Disorder in order to report on the: psychometric assessments used, sampling and demographic information, study design and sampling methods, relationships between microtransactions and both IGD and gambling disorder. Inclusion criteria included: refereed studies quantifying microtransactions and/or loot boxes examining their relationship with IGD and/or gambling disorder that were published between 2013 and 2021. Electronic databases were searched and the results were synthesised qualitatively. 14 studies were included. The quality of the evidence was ‘Good’ and clear positive relationships between microtransactions and both IGD and gambling disorder were identified. These relationships apply more to loot boxes than other microtransactions, and risky loot box use was identified as a possible mediator of these relationships. Additionally, microtransaction expenditure increased with the risk of gambling disorder. There is some evidence that adolescents who purchase loot boxes may be more at risk of developing gambling disorder. External validity is limited due to the cross-sectional nature of the evidence, the use of convenience sampling, and the predominantly Western samples resulting in non-representative samples. Prevalence rates of IGD and gambling disorder varied significantly across studies and were different to general prevalence rates. We conclude that there is a need to develop consistent methods for assessing IGD and microtransaction engagement in future research. Implications for policy-makers and future research are discussed

Disordered gaming, loneliness, and family harmony in gamers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of this study was to investigate if and how disordered gaming, loneliness, and family relations have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2019 to 2021), and if there were any changes in the association between these variables across three samples of gamers (for each respective year). Samples from 2019, 2020, and 2021 were matched by using propensity score matching across socio-demographic characteristics. The total effective sample comprised 897 gamers (N = 299 per year). These samples were compared in disordered gaming – separately as Gaming Disorder (GD; WHO framework) and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD; APA framework), loneliness, and family harmony scores with analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), with age and gender as covariates. Steiger tests were used for correlation differences testing. ANCOVAs showed that while IGD and GD scores have increased significantly during the pandemic years, loneliness and family harmony did not change significantly. However, the correlation differences tests in correlations between IGD/GD and loneliness and family harmony showed that the correlations between both IGD and GD with loneliness as well as poorer family harmony have increased during the pandemic years. This study provides empirical evidence that the well-being of gamers might have been negatively affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. While loneliness and family harmony did not increase, the stronger correlations between gaming and other variables might suggest that gaming may have been used to cope with loneliness and poorer family harmony

Examining the interplay between internet use disorder tendencies and well-being in relation to sofalizing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims: The present study investigated the potential links between Internet Use Disorder tendencies, well-being and the impact of COVID-19 on Internet usage patterns. Method: A sample of 2498 participants filled out the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; the cognitive facet of well-being) and the Sofalizing Scale which comprises the Online Displacement and Social Compensation dimensions. Participants were also asked to report the extent to which changes in Internet use occurred due to COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., reductions, no changes, increases). The present study comprised a survey study with cross-sectional character. Results: The statistical analyses demonstrated that the aforementioned variables were robustly associated with each other. In a first mediation model, the association between higher levels of Internet Use Disorder and reduced well-being was partially mediated by the two dimensions of the Sofalizing scale called Online Displacement and Social Compensation. The results of the second mediation model showed that the relationship between changes in Internet use due to COVID-19 pandemic and well-being was fully mediated by CIUS scores, suggesting that increased Internet use due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased levels of Internet Use Disorder tendencies, which in turn decreased levels of well-being. Discussion: The findings are discussed in the context of human social needs in a time of crisis, where meeting people in-person was restricted

A network analysis of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S): a large-scale cross-cultural study in Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to high levels of fear worldwide. Given that fear is an important factor in causing psychological distress and facilitating preventive behaviors, assessing the fear of COVID-19 is important. The seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a widely used psychometric instrument to assess this fear. However, the factor structure of the FCV-19S remains unclear according to the current evidence. Therefore, the present study used a network analysis to provide further empirical evidence for the factor structure of FCV-19S. A total of 24,429 participants from Iran (n = 10,843), Bangladesh (n = 9906), and Norway (n = 3680) completed the FCV-19S in their local language. A network analysis (via regularized partial correlation networks) was applied to investigate the seven FCV-19S items. Moreover, relationships between the FCV-19S items were compared across gender (males vs. females), age groups (18-30 years, 31-50 years, and >50 years), and countries (Iran, Bangladesh, and Norway). A two-factor structure pattern was observed (three items concerning physical factors, including clammy hands, insomnia, and heart palpitations; four items concerning psychosocial factors, including being afraid, uncomfortable, afraid of dying, and anxious about COVID-19 news). Moreover, this pattern was found to be the same among men and women, across age groups and countries. The network analysis used in the present study verified the two-factor structure for the FCV-19S. Future studies may consider using the two-factor structure of FCV-19S to assess the fear of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 era

A modern network approach to revisiting the positive and negative affective schedule (PANAS) construct validity

Introduction: The factor structure of the Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS) is still a topic of debate. There are several reasons why using Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) for scale validation is advantageous and can help understand and resolve conflicting results in the factor analytic literature. Objective: The main objective of the present study was to advance the knowledge regarding the factor structure underlying the PANAS scores by utilizing the different functionalities of the EGA method. EGA was used to (1) estimate the dimensionality of the PANAS scores, (2) establish the stability of the dimensionality estimate and of the item assignments into the dimensions, and (3) assess the impact of potential redundancies across item pairs on the dimensionality and structure of the PANAS scores. Method: This assessment was carried out across two studies that included two large samples of participants. Results and Conclusion: In sum, the results are consistent with a two-factor oblique structure.Fil: Flores Kanter, Pablo Ezequiel. Universidad Empresarial Siglo XXI; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Garrido, Luis Eduardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra; República DominicanaFil: Moretti, Luciana Sofía. Universidad Empresarial Siglo XXI; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra; República Dominicana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medrano, Leonardo. Universidad Empresarial Siglo XXI; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra; República Dominicana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts. Data and metadata are stored on the Open Science Framework website [https://osf.io/mhg94/]

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts. Data and metadata are stored on the Open Science Framework website (https://osf.io/mhg94/).</p&gt

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts