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. 2025 Apr 9;13(1):354.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02696-y.

The impact of academic anxiety on smartphone addiction among college students: the mediating role of self-regulatory fatigue and the moderating role of mindfulness

Linghao Kong #  1 , Mingzhe Zhao #  2 , Weijun Huang  3 , Weijuan Zhang  4 , Junlin Liu  5
Affiliations

The impact of academic anxiety on smartphone addiction among college students: the mediating role of self-regulatory fatigue and the moderating role of mindfulness

Linghao Kong et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Academic anxiety is recognized as a risk factor of smartphone addiction among college students. However, the underlying mechanisms and moderating factors remain insufficiently explored.

Method: This study examines the impact of academic anxiety on smartphone addiction, focusing on the mediating role of self-regulatory fatigue and the moderating role of mindfulness. Using convenience sampling strategy, a cross-sectional survey was implemented. Data were collected from a survey of 685 college students by using the Academic Anxiety Scale, Smartphone Addiction Scale, Self-Regulatory Fatigue Scale, and Mindfulness Scale. The hypothesized moderated mediation model was analyzed using Hayes' (2017) PROCESS macro (Model 59).

Results: Moderated mediation analysis finds that academic anxiety significantly positively predicts smartphone addiction (β = 0.30, t = 7.24, 95%CI=[0.22, 0.38], p<0.001) in college students. Academic anxiety also indirectly predicts smartphone addiction through self-regulatory fatigue (β = 0.09, t = 2.43, 95%CI=[0.02, 0.16], p<0.05), with the mediation effect accounting for 11.76%. The mediation pathways are moderated by mindfulness. Compared with students with low mindfulness, the influence of academic anxiety on self-regulatory fatigue is stronger in students with high mindfulness(β = 0.10, t = 3.85, 95%CI=[0.05, 0.16], p<0.001). However, compared with students with low mindfulness, the influence of self-regulatory fatigue on smartphone addiction is weaker in students with high mindfulness(β=-0.08, t= -2.53, 95%CI=[-0.15, -0.02], p<0.05). That is, among individuals with a high level of mindfulness, mindfulness enhances the positive relationship between academic anxiety and self-regulatory fatigue while weakening the positive association between self-regulatory fatigue and smartphone addiction.

Conclusion: These findings elucidate the internal mechanisms linking academic anxiety to smartphone addiction and underscoring the dual role of mindfulness. The results offer valuable insights for developing strategies to prevent and manage smartphone addiction among college students.

Keywords: Academic anxiety; College students; Mindfulness; Self-regulatory fatigue; Smartphone addiction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of The Fifth People’s Hospital Of Jiujiang (No.jjwy202423). Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in this study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Moderated mediation model
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The moderating role of mindfulness in the influence of academic anxiety on self-regulating fatigue
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The moderating role of mindfulness in the influence of self-regulating fatigue on smartphone addiction
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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