The Impact of Problematic Smartphone Use on Sleep Quality Among Chinese Young Adults: Investigating Anxiety and Depression as Mediators in a Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Ruipeng Wu,1– 3,* Qiong Niu,1,2,* Yingting Wang,1,2 Yundan Dawa,4 Zixuan Guang,1,2 Dongji Song,1 Bei Xue,1 Ciyong Lu,5 Shaokang Wang1,3 1Key Laboratory for Molecular Genetic Mechanisms and Intervention Research on High Altitude Disease of Tibet Autonomous Region, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, 712082, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of High Altitude Hypoxia Environment and Life Health, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, 712082, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Tibetan Medicine, University of Tibetan Medicine(UTC), Lhasa, 850000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University 510080, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence : Ciyong Lu; Shaokang Wang, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Sleep disorders are a significant health issue that urgently needs to be addressed among undergraduate students, and one of the potential underlying problems could be problematic smartphone use (PSU). This study aimed to clarify the relationship between PSU and poor sleep quality by investigating the independent and serial mediating roles of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a population of university students in Tibet, China.Methods: A total of 2993 Tibetan college students completed three waves of data surveys, with all participants completing questionnaires on PSU, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality (Time 1 (T1) -Time 3 (T3)). Bootstrapped mediation analysis was used to explore the mediating role of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the longitudinal relationship between PSU and sleep quality.Results: Both direct and indirect effects of PSU on poor sleep quality were found. PSU (T1) can had not only a direct negative influence on poor sleep quality (T3) among young adults (direct effect = 0.021, 95% CI = 0.010– 0.033) but also an indirect negative impact via three pathways: the independent mediating effect of anxiety symptoms (T2) (indirect effect 1 = 0.003, 95% CI = 0.001– 0.006), the independent mediating effect of depressive symptoms (T2) (indirect effect 2 = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.002– 0.006), and the serial mediating effects of anxiety (T2) and depressive symptoms (T2) (indirect effect 3 = 0.008, 95% CI=0.005– 0.011).Conclusion: These findings highlight the role of anxiety and depression symptoms as joint mediating factors in the relationship between PSU and sleep disturbances. Interventions focused on improving sleep that incorporate behavioural measures could benefit from treatment approaches targeting mental disorders.Keywords: sleep quality, problematic smartphone use, anxiety, depressive symptoms, longitudinal study

Keywords

• sleep quality
• problematic smartphone use
• anxiety
• depressive symptoms
• longitudinal study