Self-control and smartphone addiction: The mediating effect of regulatory focus

Smartphone addiction (SPA) is a form of behavioral addiction associated with impairments in psychological, social, and physical functioning. While recent studies have shown a correlation between individual characteristics such as self-control and SPA, the specific psychological processes and motivational frameworks within which this relationship unfolds have not been fully elucidated. This study aims to examine how regulatory focus mechanisms (promotion focus and prevention focus) change in relation to the self-control-SPA relationship within a holistic SPA framework. A total of 447 Turkish adults aged 18-48 participated in this cross-sectional study (Mage = 20.73; SDage = 4.07). Participants completed the Brief Self-Control Scale, the Regulatory Focus Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, Harman’s single-factor test, Pearson’s correlations, and mediation analyses, with age and gender included as covariates. The findings showed that SPA is negatively correlated with self-control, promotion focus, and prevention focus. Mediation analysis indicated that prevention focus played an indirect role in the relationship between self-control and SPA (β = −0.042, 95% CI [−0.074, −0.015]), whereas promotion focus did not have a significant effect in this relationship (β = −0.018, 95% CI [−0.046, 0.006]). The findings suggest that the relationship between self-control and SPA may be conceptually meaningful when considered alongside prevention focus motivational tendencies, such as risk aversion and responsibility sensitivity. This study contributes a theoretically consistent addition to the literature on self-regulation and behavioral addictions, focusing on the motivational context of the self-control–SPA relationship.