Is attentional absorption a risk factor for smartphone addiction?

Background. Smartphone addiction has emerged as a common problem, but there is insufficient understanding of its antecedents and consequences. Attentional absorption to smartphones is related to its addictive use; therefore, it is possible that smartphone addiction is facilitated by a general tendency for absorbed states (henceforth, absorption), that is, a general tendency to experience states of intense attentional focus on sensory or imaginary stimuli in a non-reflective and non-goal-directed way, which has been previously related to hypnotic susceptibility and vivid imagination. The present work consists of two studies conducted in Portugal. Study 1 tests if absorption is related to smartphone addiction independently of other factors expected to contribute to smartphone addiction: anxiety, depression, and lower interoceptive awareness (the conscious perception of internal bodily sensations). Study 2 aimed at replicating the hypothesized association between smartphone addiction and absorption. Also, because both absorption and smartphone addiction have been associated with inattention, it was tested whether smartphone addiction mediates the relationship between absorption and inattention.

Method. In Study 1, 376 participants (318 women, 58 men) completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version, the Modified Tellegen Absorption Scale, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. In Study 2, 366 participants (282 women, 84 men) completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version, the Modified Tellegen Absorption Scale, and the inattention subscale of the adult ADHD self-report scale.

Results. In Study 1, smartphone addiction was independently predicted by lower interoceptive awareness, higher anxiety, and greater absorption, but not by depression and age. In Study 2, smartphone addiction, absorption, and inattention were intercorrelated. In a mediation model controlling for age, smartphone addiction contributed to explain the association between absorption and inattention, but in small degree, meaning that several other factors contribute to the distraction ensuing from smartphone overuse. 

Conclusions. These findings have clinical implications. Absorption may have benefits in terms of intense esthetical appreciations, rich imagination, and creativity, but it may also pose risks. People with higher levels of absorption could learn to identify the effects of this propensity, and how it drives the excessive attention to smartphones and the distraction that consequently results. Moreover, smartphone addiction might be reduced by finding constructive ways to cope with anxiety, as well as by enhancing interoceptive awareness by training attention to interoceptive sensations. The correlational nature of the findings does not exclude that smartphone overuse leads to psychopathology by increasing negative mood and reducing interoceptive awareness.