The longitudinal impact of alexithymia on mobile phone addiction in adolescents: A moderated chain mediation model.

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone addiction represents a menace to adolescents' physical and mental well-being and academic advancement, as this addiction exerts adverse impacts on cognitive, behavioral, and social functions. This is an extremely significant issue that families, schools, and society must address without delay. Studies to date have examined the relationship and the mechanism linking alexithymia to mobile phone addiction in adolescents from a cross-sectional perspective. Nonetheless, the longitudinal impact and underlying mechanisms of this connection are still largely unexplored. This research delves into the longitudinal association between alexithymia and mobile phone addiction among adolescents. The distinct and chain mediating effects of rumination and loneliness are examined, along with the moderating influence of psychological resilience.

METHODS: A total of 961 Chinese adolescents took part in this study, including 445 males (46.3%) and 516 females (53.7%). The ages of the participants ranged from 12 to 18 years (Mage =16.51 years, SD =1.48). A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted with a six-month interval. The Chinese version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), rumination scale, the Chinese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the mobile phone addiction index (MPAI), and the Chinese Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were all completed by the participants.

RESULTS: Of 1003 adolescents at T1, 961 completed T2 six months later. Controlling for gender and grade, T1 alexithymia positively predicted T2 mobile phone addiction (β = 0.16, 95% CI [0.10, 0.23]). Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects through T1 rumination (β = 0.04), T2 loneliness (β = 0.04), and their chain mediation (β = 0.01), accounting for 36% of the total effect. Psychological resilience moderated the alexithymia→rumination pathway (β = -0.09, p < .001), buffering effects for high-resilience adolescents, but did not moderate subsequent pathways.

CONCLUSIONS: This study found a longitudinal association between adolescent alexithymia and mobile phone addiction, with indirect effects through rumination and loneliness (individually and in chain mediation, the latter interpreted cautiously). Psychological resilience moderated the alexithymia-rumination link, attenuating effects for high-resilience adolescents, but did not moderate subsequent pathways. Findings suggest prevention efforts should target early cognitive-emotional processes (alexithymia → rumination), particularly among adolescents with low psychological resilience.