Potential categories of problematic mobile phone use and sleep quality in adolescents: the chain mediating role of interpersonal distress and depression / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore relationships between problematic mobile phone use and interpersonal distress, depression and sleep quality using a combined variable- and person-centered approach.Methods:From December 2021 to January 2022, a total of 851 middle school students were measured by the mobile phone addiction index scale, the college students interpersonal comprehensive diagnostic scale, the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale, and the Chinese version of Pittsburg sleep quality index. Common method bias test, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis were performed using SPSS 26.0 statistical software, and Mplus 8.8 software was used to construct structural equation models for latent profile analysis.Results:The score of problematic mobile phone use was(47.23±14.50), the score of interpersonal distress was(8.72±5.68), the score of depression was(14.80±10.28), the score of sleep quality was(5.51±2.78). Variable-centered analysis revealed that problematic mobile phone use had a significant direct effect on sleep quality (effect value=0.22, 95% CI=0.11-0.34), accounting for 40.74% of the total effect. The mediating effect of depression was found between problematic mobile phone use and sleep quality (effect value=0.08, 95% CI=0.03-0.14), accounting for 14.81% of the total effect. Interpersonal distress and depression had a chain mediating effect between problematic mobile phone use and sleep quality(effect value=0.22, 95% CI=0.16-0.30), accounting for 40.74%(0.22/0.54) of the total effect. Person-centered analysis revealed that problematic mobile phone use was divided into three potential profiles: mild use group(26.1%), moderate use group(54.7%) and severe use group(19.2%). Depression(moderate use group: effect size=0.05, 95% CI=0.02-0.10; severe use group: effect size=0.07, 95% CI=0.02-0.12) and interpersonal distress-depression(moderate use group: effect size=0.13, 95% CI=0.09-0.18; severe use group: effect size=0.21, 95% CI=0.15-0.28) had a significant relative mediating effect between problematic mobile phone use profiles and sleep quality. Conclusion:Adolescent problematic mobile phone use is heterogeneous, with both variable-centered and person-centered results indicating that depression and interpersonal distress-depression mediated the effects of adolescent problematic mobile phone use on sleep quality.