Liu Chang, Ren Lei, Li Kuiliang, Yang Wei, Li Ye, Rotaru Kristian, Wei Xinyi, Yücel Murat, Albertella Lucy
BrainPark, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
Military Medical Psychology School, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 11;13:917833. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.917833. eCollection 2022.
Existing research has demonstrated that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, little is known about how different IU components such as uncertainty-related beliefs, emotions, and behaviors may impact on different PSU symptoms.
Extending previous research, the current study examined the specific associations between IU components and PSU symptoms via a symptom-level network approach. A regularized partial correlation network consisting of different IU components and PSU symptoms was estimated among 1,849 Chinese university students. We examined pathways and influential nodes (i.e. central components/symptoms and bridge components/symptoms) within the IU-PSU network.
The strongest pathway linking IU and PSU was between emotional reactions to uncertainty and coping-motivated smartphone use. Importantly, emotional reactions toward not having enough information (a reflection of emotional reactions to uncertainty) may act as both a central and a bridge component in maintaining the whole IU-PSU network.
The results are in line with the I-PACE model and highlight that PSU may be a coping response for negative emotions derived from uncertainty. Finally, the current findings highlight the potential of interventions targeting intolerance of uncertainty for reducing PSU.
现有研究表明，对不确定性的不耐受（IU）与问题性智能手机使用（PSU）有关。然而，对于不确定性相关信念、情绪和行为等不同的IU成分如何影响不同的PSU症状，我们知之甚少。
在先前研究的基础上，本研究通过症状水平网络方法检验了IU成分与PSU症状之间的具体关联。在1849名中国大学生中估计了一个由不同IU成分和PSU症状组成的正则化偏相关网络。我们研究了IU-PSU网络中的路径和有影响的节点（即核心成分/症状和桥梁成分/症状）。
连接IU和PSU的最强路径是在对不确定性的情绪反应与应对动机性智能手机使用之间。重要的是，对信息不足的情绪反应（对不确定性的情绪反应的一种反映）可能在维持整个IU-PSU网络中既充当核心成分又充当桥梁成分。
研究结果与I-PACE模型一致，并强调PSU可能是对不确定性产生的负面情绪的一种应对反应。最后，当前研究结果凸显了针对不确定性不耐受的干预措施在减少PSU方面的潜力。
