PTSD's relation with problematic smartphone use: Mediating role of impulsivity

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Behavioral Science
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often co-occurs with addictive behaviors, including excessive smartphone use.
• Impulsivity is frequently associated with both PTSD severity and problematic smartphone use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mediating role of specific impulsivity facets in the relationship between PTSD severity and problematic smartphone use.
• To examine how lack of premeditation, negative urgency, sensation seeking, and lack of perseverance influence this association.

Main Methods:

• Data from 346 participants were collected via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk).
• Assessments included the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV).

Main Results:

• Negative urgency and lack of perseverance showed significant positive correlations with both PTSD severity and problematic smartphone use.
• Mediation analyses revealed that negative urgency significantly mediated the relationship between PTSD severity and problematic smartphone use.

Conclusions:

• Negative urgency plays a crucial underlying role in the connection between PTSD severity and problematic smartphone use.
• Interventions focused on reducing negative urgency may effectively decrease problematic smartphone use in individuals with PTSD symptoms.