Transdiagnostic symptom networks of impulsivity, problematic smartphone use, and social media addiction: replication...

Impulsivity is associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU) and social media addiction (SMA). However, it remains unclear which specific impulsivity dimension and which dimension-symptom connections were most important to these associations. In this study, network analysis was applied to examine the connections between impulsivity dimensions and the separate and comorbid symptoms of PSU and SMA.

Using cross-sectional data from two independent samples of Chinese adults-a main sample (n = 1047, aged 18-26, collected in 2023) and a replication sample (n = 325, aged 18-36, collected in 2022)-three regularized partial-correlation networks were constructed for each sample: an impulsivity-PSU network, an impulsivity-SMA network, and a combined impulsivity-PSU-SMA network. Bridge centrality was calculated to identify key transdiagnostic nodes, and network comparison tests (NCTs) were performed to evaluate the consistency of findings across samples.

Across all the networks, motor impulsivity consistently emerged as the most central bridge node, showing robust connections to individual symptoms of both the PSU and the SMA, whether examined separately or comorbidly. Network comparison tests further confirmed that both the bridge centrality of motor impulsivity and its specific symptom-edge weights were comparable between the main and replication samples.

These findings provide novel, symptom-level insight into how impulsivity-particularly motor impulsivity-contributes to the development and comorbidity of PSU and SMA. Motor impulsivity is identified as a key transdiagnostic bridge and a promising target for early intervention. The replication of the core results across independent samples strengthens the reliability of the findings.