The influence of smartphone addiction on sleep quality among college students: The parallel mediating roles of perceived stress and health-promoting lifestyle.

PloS one · 2026 · Harm · Moderate evidence

← Research stream

HarmModerate evidencePaper 4329

Smartphone addiction was positively correlated with poor sleep quality among college students. Perceived stress and health-promoting lifestyle partially mediated this relationship, accounting for 47.51% and 14.83% of the total effect, respectively.

Study snapshot

PublicationPloS one · 2026

Study typecross_sectional

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between smartphone addiction and sleep quality among college students, focusing on the parallel mediating roles of perceived stress and health-promoting lifestyle. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in March 2025 among 2,317 students from Xuzhou Medical University using an online questionnaire. Data were collected via questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS 21.0. The study used the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Statistical methods included normality tests, descriptive statistics, and mediation analysis. RESULTS: A prevalence rate of 51.9% for sleep disorders was identified among the university student population. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between smartphone addiction and poor sleep quality (r = 0.259, p < 0.01). Additionally, perceived stress (r = 0.408, p < 0.01) and health-promoting lifestyle (r = -0.182, p < 0.01) were identified as parallel mediators in this relationship. Mediation analysis indicated a significant total effect of smartphone addiction (SAS-SV) on sleep quality (PSQI) (path c = 0.0863, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.0730, 0.0995). Furthermore, a significant direct effect of SAS-SV on PSQI was noted (path c' = 0.0325, 95% CI = 0.0188, 0.0461). The health-promoting lifestyle (HPLP) (path a1b1 = 0.0128, 95% CI = 0.0086, 0.0176) and perceived stress (PSS) (path a2b2 = 0.0410, 95% CI = 0.0332, 0.0491) were found to partially mediate the relationship between SAS-SV and PSQI, accounting for 14.83% and 47.51% of the total effect, respectively. These findings highlight the dual mediating roles of perceived stress and health-promoting lifestyle in the association between smartphone addiction and sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone addiction negatively affects sleep quality, both directly and indirectly through increased perceived stress and reduced engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle. Interventions targeting stress management and healthy behaviors are recommended to mitigate these effects.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typecross_sectional

Effect directionharm

Populationcollege students

Sample size2317

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 80% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

sleep quality
perceived stress
health-promoting lifestyle

Limitations

Cross-sectional design limits causal inference
Self-reported data may introduce bias

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "cross_sectional",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "smartphone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "college students",
  "sample_size": 2317,
  "outcomes": [
    "sleep quality",
    "perceived stress",
    "health-promoting lifestyle"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Smartphone addiction was positively correlated with poor sleep quality among college students. Perceived stress and health-promoting lifestyle partially mediated this relationship, accounting for 47.51% and 14.83% of the total effect, respectively.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Cross-sectional design limits causal inference",
    "Self-reported data may introduce bias"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.8,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "smartphone addiction",
    "sleep quality",
    "perceived stress",
    "health-promoting lifestyle",
    "college students"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340852
PubMed: 41678505

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library