The influence of meaning in life on smartphone addiction among nursing undergraduates: the mediating roles of professional identity and achievement motivation

Abstract

Abstract Background Smartphone addiction is a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive smartphone use, leading to physical and mental health issues. This condition significantly affects individuals’ well-being. Undergraduate nursing students, as the future backbone of the nursing profession, face challenges in maintaining their physical and mental health. This study aims to investigate the impact of meaning in life on smartphone addiction among nursing students, with professional identity and achievement motivation as parallel mediators achievement motivation. Methods A total of 637 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study (105 males, 16.5%; 532 females, 83.5%), with an average age of 20.71 ± 1.61 years. The Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Purpose in Life Test-Short Form, Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students, and Short Form of the Achievement Motive Scale were used to measure smartphone addiction, meaning in life, professional identity, and achievement motivation. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.0. Parallel mediation effects were analyzed using Model 4 of the PROCESS macro, with the bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method used to test the significance of mediation effects. Results The findings revealed: (1) Meaning in life significantly negatively predicted smartphone addiction; (2) Professional identity mediated the relationship between meaning in life and smartphone addiction; (3) Achievement motivation mediated the relationship between meaning in life and smartphone addiction; (4) Professional identity and achievement motivation served as parallel mediators in the relationship between meaning in life and smartphone addiction. Conclusion This study highlights the critical role of meaning in life in reducing smartphone addiction among nursing students. Professional identity and achievement motivation were identified as key mediating mechanisms. These findings provide valuable insights for educators and researchers, offering practical strategies to mitigate smartphone addiction and enhance the well-being of nursing students through targeted interventions.

Keywords

• Smartphone addiction
• Professional identity
• Achievement motivation
• Meaning in life
• Nursing students
• Mediation model