Attachment styles and smartphone addiction: The mediating role of self-esteem and sensitivity to rejection

Although the role of attachment styles, self-esteem, and sensitivity to rejection in smartphone addiction has been confirmed, there are still many ambiguities in how these factors affect smartphone addiction; In some cases, research results are even contradictory, perhaps because they have often been examined independently.

This study investigates the mediating role of self-esteem and sensitivity to rejection in the relationship between attachment styles and smartphone addiction

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the indirect relationship between attachment styles and smartphone addiction through self-esteem and sensitivity to rejection. The statistical population of this study included all smartphone users aged 20 to 34 years old. The participants included 452 individuals aged 20 to 34 years (49.1% women and 50.9% men). The following questionnaires were administered to the participants: Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire (Besharat, 2011), smartphone Addiction (Sevari, 2014), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem (1965), and the adult version of Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (Branson et al.,2009). The path analysis method was used for data analysis.

The results of the bootstrap method showed that self-esteem and sensitivity to rejection partially mediated the relationship between secure and avoidant attachment styles and smartphone addiction. The results also indicated their full mediating role in the relationship between anxious attachment style and smartphone addiction. Furthermore, results showed gender's moderating role on the direct path between avoidant attachment style and smartphone addiction, And the indirect path between anxious attachment style and smartphone addiction.

This study's findings suggest that to solve the smartphone addiction issue, especially in women, paying attention to the components of self-esteem and sensitivity to rejection can be helpful.