TY  - EJOU
AU  - Hu, Junting 
AU  - Wang, Liangqing 
AU  - Pi, Zhiyu 
AU  - Zhong, Huahua 
AU  - Griffiths, Mark D. 
AU  - Li,  

TI  - Heterogeneity of smartphone dependence among university students and its network relationship with perceived stress and fear of missing out
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - The present study examined the heterogeneity of smartphone dependence and its network relationships with perceived stress and fear of missing out. A total of 1014 university students completed the Fear of Missing Out Scale, Mobile Phone Addiction Index, and Perceived Stress Scale (females = 67.8%; juniors or above = 28.8%; mean age = 19.4 years, SD = 1.4). A latent profile analysis identified three smartphone dependence risk profiles: low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk. Moreover, a Gaussian graphical model showed that the ‘tension’ dimension of perceived stress was the most central and bridging node within the network. In the moderated network model, significant pairwise interaction edges were observed among the dimensions, although no significant moderation effect was observed. The study findings support the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model by demonstrating heterogeneous risk profiles and by identifying tension as a central and bridging node. The heterogeneity and network patterns underlying smartphone dependence suggest a need for targeted interventions that consider both individual risk profiles and the role of tension in the symptom network.
KW  - Fear of missing out; smartphone dependence; perceived stress; latent profile analysis; network analysis

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2026.081211