Boredom proneness and mind wandering in Chinese adolescents: mobile phone addiction as a mediator and sensation seeking as a moderator

Mind wandering is common during adolescence and can interfere with academic performance and psychological well-being. Boredom proneness, a stable tendency to experience dissatisfaction in unstimulating contexts, has been associated with greater mind wandering, yet the mechanisms linking these constructs remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated whether mobile phone addiction mediates the association between boredom proneness and mind wandering, and whether sensation seeking moderates this pathway. Data were collected from 3,736 adolescents (mean age = 14.98 years, SD = 1.64) enrolled in 17 schools across Guangdong Province, China. Participants completed validated self-report measures of boredom proneness, mobile phone addiction, sensation seeking, and mind wandering. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using SPSS 23.0 and Mplus 8.3. Boredom proneness was positively associated with mind wandering. Mobile phone addiction partially mediated this association, and sensation seeking moderated the pathway between boredom proneness and mobile phone addiction. Findings suggest that mobile phone addiction helps explain the link between boredom proneness and mind wandering, with stronger associations observed among adolescents high in sensation seeking. Given the cross-sectional design, causal inferences cannot be drawn, but the results highlight potential targets for interventions aimed at regulating boredom and reducing problematic phone use.