Exploring associative relationships: Family functions, anxiety, and fear of missing out as predictors of smartphone addiction among Thai adolescents

Abstract

Past research has recognized family functions and psychological factors like anxiety and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) as significant influencers on smartphone addiction (SA) among adolescents. However, the precise association links between these elements have remained elusive. This study, grounded in family systems and structural family theories, and the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) Model, examines these relationships among adolescent students. It investigated how family functions, particularly emotional status and discipline, alongside anxiety and FoMO, contribute to SA through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This study involved 1105 secondary school students (57.3 % females; Mage = 15.12, SD = 1.78) from Southern Thailand. The research unveils that a positive family emotional climate significantly reduces anxiety, FoMO, and SA. The study further elucidates that anxiety and FoMO serve as significant risk factors in exacerbating SA. Anxiety is found to be a full mediator in the relationship from discipline to SA and a partial mediator between emotional status and SA, with FoMO amplifying these mediation effects. The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data.

Keywords

• Anxiety
• Discipline
• Emotional status
• Fear of missing out
• Smartphone addiction
• Thai adolescent student