Problematic mobile phone use and cognitive failures: the mediating role of emotional distress and the moderating role of coping style

Adolescents with problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) have been demonstrated to experience more cognitive failures than healthy controls. To help them better cope with surroundings and improve the quality of life, the present study aimed to discover how PMPU was associated with cognitive failures and if there was any protective factor acting as a buffer in this effect. Emotional distress and coping style are thought to be linked in this association. Thus, this study examined the mediating role of emotional distress and the moderating role of coping style using self-reported questionnaires in a sample of 953 high school and undergraduate students. The results indicated that emotional distress partially mediated the association between PMPU and cognitive failures. In addition, although coping style didn't moderate the direct association between PMPU and cognitive failures, it moderated the two stages of the mediation process. In other words, adolescents with positive coping style could successfully attenuate the adverse effects of PMPU on emotional distress, which in turn had weaker association with cognitive failures. Our study advanced a better understanding of the negative consequences induced by PMPU and suggested effective coping might be a crucial intervention target to prevent further deterioration of emotional distress and cognitive function for PMPU adolescents.