Why undergraduate freshmen experience problematic smartphone use? A predisposing variables perspective

Objective The causes of problematic smartphone use (PSU) are complex, with an individual’s predisposing variables playing a crucial role in triggering PSU. However, the relative importance of these predisposing variables in the development of PSU, as well as the potential associations between them, requires further exploration.Method An online questionnaire was completed by 1,118 undergraduate freshmen (666 women and 452 men, with a mean age=18.19, SD=0.66). Participants were recruited from a university in Anhui Province, China, and volunteered to complete the survey.Results The results indicated that the prevalence of PSU among the undergraduate freshmen sample was 21.38%. Levels of predisposing variables differed significantly between the PSU and non-PSU groups.Conclusions In the PSU group, depression emerged as the core variable, and a strong relationship was found between depression and anxiety. Additionally, there were significant differences in the network structure of predisposing variables between the PSU and non-PSU groups.