Correction to: Does positive coping style alleviate anxiety symptoms after appearing problematic smartphone use for generation Z adolescents? The mediating role of state core self-evaluation (jun, 10.1007/s12144-023-04776-x, 2023)

Generation Z is a high-risk population for developing problematic smartphone use, while adolescence is a high-risk period for developing anxiety symptoms. It is unclear whether, how, and when problematic smartphone use predicts anxiety symptoms among Generation Z adolescents with problematic smartphone use. This study examines a moderated mediating model involving the link between problematic smartphone use, anxiety symptoms, state core self-evaluation, and positive coping style among Generation Z adolescents with problematic smartphone use. This study recruited 480 Generation Z adolescent users and selected 121 Generation Z adolescents who reported high-level problematic smartphone use. Results show that when Generation Z adolescents have low and medium positive coping styles, their problematic smartphone use predicts anxiety symptoms through the mediating role of reduced state core self-evaluation (positive coping style = M − 1SD, b = 0.28, Bootstrap 95% CI [0.06–0.52]; positive coping style = M, b = 0.13, Bootstrap 95% CI [0.03–0.28]). Therefore, positive coping styles with low and medium levels would be ineffective in reducing the anxiety outcome of problematic smartphone use among Generation Z adolescents with problematic smartphone use. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023. corrected publication 2023.