Smartphone addiction and learning engagement: a parallel mediation model of time management disposition and academic...

We aimed to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and learning engagement among nursing undergraduates, and to analyze the parallel mediating effects of time management disposition and academic burnout in this relationship.

In this multi-center cross-sectional study, we used a convenience sampling method to recruit nursing undergraduates from five universities in Chongqing Municipality, Hubei province, and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Smartphone Addiction Scale, Time Management Disposition Scale, Academic Burnout Scale, and Learning Engagement Scale. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 25.0, and structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating effects.

Smartphone addiction was significantly negatively correlated with learning engagement (r = -0.551). Time management disposition was significantly positively correlated with learning engagement (r = 0.692) and significantly negatively correlated with smartphone addiction (r = -0.456). Academic burnout was significantly negatively correlated with learning engagement (r = -0.603). Structural equation modeling revealed that time management disposition (β = -0.274, 95% CI: -0.203 to -0.118) and academic burnout (β = -0.071, 95% CI: -0.078 to -0.006) had partial mediating effects on the interaction between smartphone addiction and learning engagement. The two pathways constituted a parallel mediating effect, accounting for 61.17% of the total effect.

Smartphone addiction was significantly associated with learning engagement, and time management disposition and academic burnout acted as significant partial mediators in this association. Comprehensive strategies including time management training, academic burnout interventions, and smartphone use guidance in universities may help mitigate the negative impacts of smartphone addiction and improve nursing undergraduates' learning engagement.