Smartphones have many characteristics that make them attractive to adolescents. Recent work, however, has established a link between smartphone-related problems and self-esteem (self-worth) and social anxiety (fear of social relations). To date, little is known about the characteristics underpinning these relationships in combination. Driven by theory, the present study examined the association between self-esteem, social anxiety, and nomophobia (fear of being without access to a smartphone) and problem smartphone use (PSU) in a sample of early adolescents (N = 254). Self-esteem (Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale), social anxiety (Social Avoidance and Distress Scale) and their combined contribution (self-esteem × social anxiety) served as predictor variables of nomophobia (Nomophobia Questionnaire) and PSU (Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale – Adolescent version) in separate moderated regression analyses. We found that lower self-esteem was associated with higher nomophobia and PSU, and that higher self-esteem may be a protective factor in those lower in social anxiety, such that they are not prone to excessive smartphone use. Our findings offer preliminary markers for psychologists addressing the challenges related to excessive smartphone use in this age group.

智能手机具有许多吸引青少年的特点。然而，最近的工作已经在智能手机相关问题与自尊（自我价值）和社交焦虑（对社交关系的恐惧）之间建立了联系。迄今为止，人们对支撑这些关系组合的特征知之甚少。在理论的驱动下，本研究在早期青少年样本中检验了自尊、社交焦虑和恐惧症（害怕无法使用智能手机）与智能手机使用问题（PSU）之间的关联（N = 254)。自尊（罗森伯格自尊量表）、社交焦虑（社交回避和痛苦量表）及其综合贡献（自尊×社交焦虑）作为恐惧症（恐惧症问卷）和 PSU（手机问题使用量表）的预测变量 -青少年版）在单独的缓和回归分析中。我们发现，较低的自尊与较高的恐惧症和 PSU 相关，较高的自尊可能是社交焦虑较低的人的保护因素，因此他们不易过度使用智能手机。我们的研究结果为心理学家解决与该年龄段过度使用智能手机相关的挑战提供了初步标记。