Problematic mobile phone use and big-five personality domains

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Digital Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Mobile phones offer communication benefits but pose risks of problematic or addictive use.
• Understanding the psychological underpinnings of problematic mobile phone use is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between the Big Five personality domains and problematic mobile phone use.
• To identify personality predictors of excessive mobile phone engagement.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI).
• Collected survey data from 504 university students.
• Employed multiple regression analysis to examine relationships.

Main Results:

• Problematic mobile phone use was significantly associated with gender, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness-to-experience.
• Agreeableness and conscientiousness were not found to be significant predictors.
• Specific personality traits influence the likelihood of problematic mobile phone use.

Conclusions:

• Identifying key personality predictors allows for targeted screening of individuals at risk for problematic mobile phone use.
• These findings can inform the development of interventions to mitigate negative mobile phone behaviors.