Academic Stress and Smartphone Dependence among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

The problem of smartphone dependence among adolescents has become increasingly prominent. This study explored the relationship between academic stress and teenagers’ smartphone dependence, and whether psychological distress (general anxiety and depression) mediate this association. Further, we investigated the potential moderating role of academic resilience on the relationship between academic stress and psychological distress. A total of N = 520 students participated in this cross-sectional study. The Academic Stress Scale, the Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30), the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) were used to measure students’ academic stress, academic resilience, psychological distress, and smartphone dependence, respectively. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship among the variables. The results showed that academic stress was positively related to psychological distress, which may further lead to severe smartphone dependence. Psychological distress partially mediated the relationship between academic stress and smartphone dependence. The mediating effect of psychological distress between academic stress and smartphone dependence was moderated by academic resilience. Specifically, academic resilience weakened the indirect relationship between academic stress and smartphone dependence that was mediated by psychological distress. Our findings indicated that academic stress was a risk factor for smartphone dependence, and adolescents may use smartphone excessively as way to release tension when facing academic stress. Academic resilience may weaken the negative effect of academic resilience on psychological distress by moderating the association between stress and psychological distress, which in turn reduces the likelihood of smartphone dependence.