The mediating effect of rumination and fear of missing out between mobile phone addiction and sleep quality among college students

The impact of mobile phone addiction (MPA) on college students’ sleep quality (SQ) has received increasing attention in recent years. On this basis, the mediating roles of rumination and FOMO (fear of missing out) on MPA and SQ were examined in this study. In a cross-sectional study, preliminary data were gathered via questionnaires from 1401 college students (19.35 ± 0.81) from 5 universities in Jiangxi Province, China. Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale, Rumination Response Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale and Sleep Quality Scale were employed in the research. The mediation model was tested using SPSS 26.0, with FOMO and rumination acting as the mediating variables. Between MPA and SQ, rumination and FOMO each had their own unique mediation effect. Furthermore, rumination and FOMO function as a chain of mediators between college students’ MPA and SQ. This study provided confirmation and clarification that in college students, the association between MPA and SQ was mediated by rumination and FOMO. This study improves our understanding of MPA, SQ and how MPA may affect SQ in college students. It also shows that the impact of MPA and SQ of college students should be given more consideration by educators, parents, and college students themselves.