From Fear of Missing Out to Poor Sleep: A Dual-Pathway Mechanism and the Selective Role of Sensation Seeking

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) has been increasingly recognized as a psychological driver of problematic mobile phone use and sleep disturbances among young adults. However, existing research is fragmented, with limited integration of cognitive-affective and behavioral mechanisms within a unified theoretical framework. Drawing on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, a process-oriented framework in which problematic smartphone use mediates the association between FoMO and sleep quality, with sensation seeking examined as a boundary condition. Data from 1124 Chinese undergraduate students showed that FoMO was associated with poor sleep quality. Problematic smartphone use partially mediated this association, suggesting that FoMO is linked to sleep outcomes through both direct cognitive-affective processes and indirect behavioral pathways. Sensation seeking significantly strengthened the associations between FoMO and problematic smartphone use, as well as between problematic smartphone use and sleep quality, whereas it was not significantly associated with the direct FoMO-sleep link, indicating pathway-specific moderation primarily operating at the behavioral execution level. These findings provide empirical support for an I-PACE-based process model of FoMO-related sleep problems and highlight behavioral engagement processes as a key target for interventions among high-risk individuals.