Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations Between Emotional Regulation, Perceived Stress, and Multiple Indices of Smartphone Use Among Young-Adult Women

This study represents a three-wave, four-month longitudinal study examining the prospective bidirectional associations between perceived stress and indices of smartphone use, as well as emotion regulation and indices of smartphone use among 525 cisgender women residing in the United States (MeanAge = 28.68; SDAge = 4.33). After confirming measurement invariance across time, cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) was used to estimate six bivariate, bidirectional, longitudinal models containing LAG-2 effects. Results evidenced significant bidirectional longitudinal associations between perceived stress and smartphone pervasiveness, and only one significant unidirectional effect concerning objective screentime on subsequent perceived stress. Concerning distraction-suppression, results showed one significant unidirectional longitudinal effect of distraction-suppression on later smartphone pervasiveness, and one significant unidirectional effect of objective screentime on subsequent distraction-suppression. We discuss results in light of the Compensatory Internet Use Theory (CIUT), and we further recommend that authors focus on specific forms of smartphone use when further investigating the CUIT.