The short-term longitudinal associations between loneliness and smartphone addiction: the mediating role of depression

Smartphone addiction, loneliness, and depression are the norm in life, and previous studies indicate that they are closely related to each other. However, many studies have reached inconsistent conclusions and the potential mechanisms remain controversial. Therefore, based on the deficient self-regulation model, this paper aimed to examine the relationships between loneliness and smartphone addiction, including depression as a possible mediator, by testing 4274 students in China and performing a two-wave cross-lagged analysis. The results showed that: loneliness (T1) could significantly and positively predict depression and smartphone addiction (T2); depression (T1) could significantly and positively predict loneliness and smartphone addiction (T2); similarly, smartphone addiction (T1) could significantly and positively predict loneliness and depression (T2); depression (T1) mediated the relationship between loneliness (T1) and smartphone addiction (T2). The findings show the significance of promoting college students’ mental health and preventing smartphone addiction.