Psychological issues and problematic use of smartphone: ADHD's moderating role in the associations among loneliness, need for social assurance, need for immediate connection, and problematic use of smartphone

Going beyond looking at the direct association between psychological issues (loneliness and ADHD) and problematic use of media (smartphone), the present study examined the covert mechanism connecting the two. NSA (need for social assurance) and NIC (need for immediate connection) were selected as mediating steps between the two. A total of 615 U.S. American participants were recruited nationally for survey participation. Research findings suggest that individuals who are lonely would rely on smartphone hoping to be connected with and get assurance from others, but might end up struggling with problematic use of smartphone. Those with ADHD showed higher levels of loneliness, NSA, NIC, and problematic use of smartphone, and also showed stronger associations linking loneliness, NSA and NIC compared to those without ADHD. Face-to-face (FtF) interaction decreased the association between NSA and NIC for those with ADHD.