The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Mobile Phone Addiction Among Adolescents: A Cross-Lagged Study

Insufficient physical activity (PA) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) frequently co-occur during adolescence, but whether their prospective association reflects stable differences between adolescents or within-person fluctuations remains unclear. This three-wave longitudinal study examined reciprocal prospective associations between PA and PSU in 1015 Chinese adolescents aged 12-18 years across 12 months, with assessments separated by approximately six months. PA was assessed using the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3, and PSU was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was specified as the primary analysis, with a conventional cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) estimated secondarily for comparison with previous longitudinal research. In the RI-CLPM, the stable between-person components of PA and PSU were negatively associated (β = -0.681, p = 0.004). At the within-person level, higher-than-usual PA was prospectively associated with lower-than-usual PSU at the subsequent wave (β = -0.117 and -0.108), whereas higher-than-usual PSU was prospectively associated with lower-than-usual subsequent PA (β = -0.257 and -0.189); all four cross-lagged paths were statistically significant. The secondary CLPM showed reciprocal negative cross-lagged associations in the same directions. By separating stable between-person differences from within-person deviations, this study extends longitudinal evidence on the PA-PSU relationship and indicates that the two behaviors are prospectively coupled within adolescents over time. These findings provide a basis for future research and intervention trials that consider PA and problematic smartphone behavior jointly, while causal mechanisms remain to be established.