How Meaning in Life and Affect Influence Problematic Smartphone Use in Firefighter Students: A Two-Wave Study

Fangfang Pang, Shuxian Wang, Hao Dan, Ting Su, Xiaoli Yang, Haiyan Xing, Chen Xu and Zhiwei Zhou ()
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Fangfang Pang: China Fire and Rescue Institute
Shuxian Wang: China Fire and Rescue Institute
Hao Dan: China Fire and Rescue Institute
Ting Su: Hubei University of Science and Technology
Xiaoli Yang: Hunan University of Science & Technology
Haiyan Xing: China Fire and Rescue Institute
Chen Xu: China Fire and Rescue Institute
Zhiwei Zhou: University of Southampton

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2025, vol. 20, issue 4, No 14, 1683-1701

Abstract: Abstract Excessive mobile phone use has raised concerns about addiction among college students, yet research specifically addressing firefighter students remains limited. This study investigates how meaning in life (MIL) is associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU) in firefighter students, with positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) as mediators. Data from 606 participants (Mage = 22.73; SD = 2.67, 97% male) were collected across two waves, assessing MIL, PA, NA, and PSU. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with item parceling revealed that both PA (B = − 0.09, SE = 0.04, p = .042, 95% CI [-0.176, − 0.003]) and NA (B = − 0.05, SE = 0.01, p = .001, 95% CI [-0.073, − 0.017]) significantly mediate the MIL-PSU relationship. Specifically, higher MIL correlates with reduced PSU, mediated by increased PA and decreased NA. These results highlight the critical role of emotional states in the MIL-PSU link, offering insights for intervention strategies that focus on enhancing MIL and emotion to curb PSU in firefighter students. Additionally, the insignificant direct association between T1-MIL and T2-PSU among students with prior firefighting experience, in the absence of mediation by PA/NA, suggests the important and complex role of previous firefighting experience, which should be further explored when developing interventions tailored to firefighter students with and without such experience.

Keywords: Meaning in Life; Positive Affect; Negative Affect; Problematic Smartphone Use; Firefighter Students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-025-10476-4

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