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Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Measuring Engagement of Spectators of Social Digital Games
Published on: July 3, 2021
Social comparison orientation and fear of missing out as mediators between self-concept clarity and problematic
Rocco Servidio1, Maria Sinatra2, Mark D Griffiths3
1Department of Cultures, Education and Society, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, Building Cube 20/B, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy.
Abstract:
The present study sought to provide empirical evidence for the sequential mediating role of social comparison orientation and fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relationship between self-concept clarity (SCC) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) within the framework of the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model. A sample of 474 Italian participants (Mage = 29.48; 52.7% females) completed a battery of self-report instruments including the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation, the Fear of Missing Out Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and structural equation modelling analyses were conducted. Results confirmed the hypothesized relationships and indicated that SCC was negatively associated with PSU use and that this association was partially and sequentially mediated by social comparison orientation and FoMO. Both mediators could therefore be considered as proximal factors of PSU. Implications and further research suggestions are provided.
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