Country indicators moderating the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress: A study in 20 countries

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Frontiers Media. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.588174Problematic mobile phone use can be related to negative mental states. Some studies indicate that behavioural dependency is related to variables associated with the country of origin. The aim of our study was to investigate if country indicators moderated the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress. Our sample consisted of 7,315 individuals from 20 countries, who completed the Phubbing Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). The analyses also included country indicators: the Gender Gap Index (GGI), the Human Development Index (HDI), the Social Progress Index (SPI), Hofstede’s dimensions of culture, and the World Happiness Index (WHI). Our results showed that psychological distress was related to at least one dimension of phubbing (i.e., to communication disturbance or phone obsession) in all countries, which means this relationship is culturally universal. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of testing measurement invariance to determine what type of analysis and what type of conclusion are valid in a given study or comparison. Moreover, the increasing or decreasing correlation between phubbing and distress is related to some culture-level indices.This study was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. NCN UMO-2017/26/M/HS6/00779. In Brazil, the data collection was partly funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) under the grant number 424802/2016-3.Published onlin

Development of work stress scale for correctional officers

Introduction: This study aimed at examining the psychometric properties of Work Stress Scale for Correctional Officers (WSSCO). Methods: One hundred nineteen correctional officers (109 males and 10 females) employed in Turkey participated in this study. In addition to WSSCO, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were administered to the participants. Results: The internal consistencies and the item-total correlations were acceptable both for the whole scale and for its subscales; namely, "work overload," "role conflict and role ambiguity," "inadequacies in physical conditions of prison," "threat perception," and "general problems." Test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.77 for total scale, and test-retest reliability coefficients ranged between 0.68 and 0.78 for the subscales. The total scale and most of the subscales were positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, and negatively correlated with perceived social support. Furthermore, all subscales significantly differentiated high depressive symptomatology group from the low depressive symptomatology group. Conclusions: The present results revealed that the psychometric properties of WSSCO were quite adequate. The scale can provide a potentially useful tool for research on job stress in correctional officers

Self-Control and Digital Media Addiction: The Mediating Role of Media Multitasking and Time Style

Introduction: As being an initiating actions and resisting short-term temptations, self-control is negatively related to digital media addiction. However, many studies indicate that there are variables that may mediate this relationship. The present study investigated the mediating role of media multitasking and time style in the relationship between self-control and digital media addiction. Methods: The study included N= 2193 participants with a mean age of M = 23.26 (SD = 6.98) from seven countries: Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and the United States. The authors used the Brief Self-Control Scale, the Media Multitasking Scale, the Time Styles Scale, the Problematic Smartphone Use Scale, the Problematic Internet Use Scale, and the Problematic Facebook Use Scale. Results: Results revealed that self-control was negatively related to all assessed types of problematic digital media use, namely problematic Internet use, problematic smartphone use, and problematic Facebook use. Media multitasking was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between self-control and problematic digital media use. Discussion: High self-control can be preventative against uncontrolled and automatic social media checking, whereas low self-control fosters the habit of continuously remaining current

Cultural Correlates of Internet Addiction

Increasing problems connected with excessive Internet use can be observed all over the world. Internet addiction is defined as excessive involvement in the Internet with negative consequences. The main aim of the study was to investigate economic indicators as correlates of Internet addiction. The study was conducted in nine countries. The number of participants amounted to a total of 3,279 Internet users (54% were female), with a mean age of M = 25.14 (SD = 10.03). The authors used Young's Internet Addiction Test. In addition, some social and economic indicators characterizing the countries were taken into consideration. We found that Internet addiction was positively related to economic well-being, social progress, and human development as well as negatively related to human well-being, health, safety, and security. The results of the study contribute to the international debate on Internet addiction

Cultural Correlates of Internet Addiction

Increasing problems connected with excessive Internet use can be observed all over the world. Internet addiction is defined as excessive involvement in the Internet with negative consequences. The main aim of the study was to investigate economic indicators as correlates of Internet addiction. The study was conducted in nine countries. The number of participants amounted to a total of 3,279 Internet users (54% were female), with a mean age of M\u2009=\u200925.14 (SD\u2009=\u200910.03). The authors used Young's Internet Addiction Test. In addition, some social and economic indicators characterizing the countries were taken into consideration. We found that Internet addiction was positively related to economic well-being, social progress, and human development as well as negatively related to human well-being, health, safety, and security. The results of the study contribute to the international debate on Internet addiction

Lonely online: a social model of digital media addiction: a study in 21 countries

Digital media addiction limits face-to-face communication, which can have negative effects on the subjective wellbeing of individuals. However, the effect of digital media addiction on subjective wellbeing has not been adequately explored, and it is recommended in the literature that the role of mediating variables related to social life should be investigated. These include loneliness and satisfaction with relationships. The current study investigated whether loneliness and satisfaction with relationships explained the link between people’s digital media addiction and their sense of flourishing. A sample of 6,434 respondents from 21 countries (Mage = 25.92 years, SD = 9.78; 65.5% women) took part in a cross-sectional survey study. The study included a comprehensive evaluation of digital media addiction using several measures. The following scales were applied: the Internet Addiction Scale, the Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire, the Phubbing Scale, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and the Flourishing Scale. A two-level path analysis showed that loneliness and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships fully mediated the link between digital media addiction and flourishing on the individual level. This suggests that digital media addiction may affect flourishing only through its impact on loneliness and satisfaction with interpersonal relationships.</p