Social anxiety and problematic smartphone use in Chinese college students: the mediating roles of coping style and the moderating role of perceived friend support

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is a prevalent behavioral problem in young people. Notably, levels of PSU positively correlate with levels of social anxiety. However, the mechanism underlying the relationship between social anxiety and PSU has not been fully elucidated. Coping style and friend support are potential factors involved in such a mechanism. In this study, we collected a battery of surveys in a group of college students (n = 512). Then, we used the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model to examine the possible mediating role of coping style in the relationship between social anxiety and PSU, and further tested the possible moderating role of perceived friend support. We built a structural equation model and found a positive relationship between social anxiety and PSU, as well as finding that coping style partially mediated said relationship. Further, perceived friend support moderated the association between social anxiety and coping style. This relationship became stronger for college students with higher levels of friend support. Our findings are important in understanding why individuals with social anxiety are prone to PSU, and why individuals with better friend support are resistant to such behavior.