Regulatory strategies for smartphone use and problematic internet use in adolescence

Self-regulation is a basic skill that can prevent problematic Internet and smartphone use in adolescence (LaRose et al., 2003). The present study explored regulation strategies in the use of this device, as well as the relationships between such strategies and the background variables of Caplan's (2010) model, to identify those adolescents who present high or low negative consequences of Internet use. With a representative sample of adolescents from 1st to 4th year of secondary education in the Community of Madrid (N=524, M-age= 13,57, SD= 1.24, Range= 12-17), our results indicated that parents were the ones who regulated smartphone use in about half of the adolescents. Self-regulation deficit with cognitive rumination, parent intervention to regulate the use of this device and the variables of Caplan's (2010) model -except for online emotional regulation- were significant predictors to identify those adolescents who showed high or low negative consequences. Educational implications and future lines of research are also discussed.