Relationships Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Smartphone Addiction: the Moderating Role of Mindfulness

This study investigated the relationships between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) and smartphone addiction. The study further investigated the moderating role of mindfulness in the relationship between EMSs and smartphone addiction. The study employed a SEM-based multi-group analysis using data collected from 660 mobile users in Turkey. Results indicated that none of the EMSs were significantly associated with smartphone addiction for average users. On the other hand, certain EMSs were significantly associated with smartphone addiction for intermittent and addicted users. The schemas of social isolation/mistrust, approval seeking, and abandonment were positively associated with smartphone addiction for intermittent users, whereas approval seeking and entitlement/insufficient self-control were positively associated with smartphone addiction for addicted users. The findings implied that those who have higher score on the EMSs were more likely to become addicted to smartphones. The results further indicated that mindfulness significantly moderated these relationships, suggesting that as mindfulness increases, the number of schemas related to smartphone addiction decreases.