How and for Whom Academic Stress Causes Problematic Smartphone Use: The Role of Escapism Motivation and Present Hedonistic Time Perspective

Although numerous studies have examined the direct association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use, the empirical evidences for the association are inconsistent. Also, the factors that can mediate or moderate the association remain underexplored. With the aim to address these knowledge gaps, based on 680 undergraduate students recruited from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), this study has examined (1) the direct association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use, (2) the mediating role of escapism motivation on the association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use, (3) the moderating role of present hedonistic time perspective on the association between escapism motivation and problematic smartphone use, and (4) the moderating role of present hedonistic time perspective on the indirect association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use through escapism motivation. The findings have shown that (1) the association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use was not statistically significant, (2) the association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use was mediated by escapism motivation, (3) present hedonistic time perspective has positively moderated the association between escapism motivation and problematic smartphone use, and (4) present hedonistic time perspective has positively moderated the indirect association between academic stress and problematic smartphone use through escapism motivation. The current study identified escapism motivation and present hedonistic time perspective as the factors that can explain “how” and “for whom” academic stress causes problematic smartphone use and provided important practical implications for the intervention of problematic smartphone use among undergraduate students.