Smartphones are more reinforcing than food for students

A psychobioecological model to understand the income-food insecurity-obesity relationship

Food insecurity, defined by unpredictable access to food that may not meet a person's nutritional needs, is associated with higher BMI (kg/m2) and obesity. People with food insecurity often have less access to food, miss meals and go hungry, which can lead to psychological and metabolic changes that favor energy conservation and weight gain. We describe a conceptual model that includes psychological (food reinforcement and delay discounting) and physiological (thermic effect of food and substrate oxidation) factors to understand how resource scarcity associated with food insecurity evolves into the food insecurity-obesity paradox. We present both animal and human translational research to describe how behavioral and metabolic adaptations to resource scarcity based on behavioral ecology theory may occur for people with food insecurity. We conclude with ideas for interventions to prevent or modify the behaviors and underlying physiology that characterize the income-food insecurity-obesity relationship.

Problematic mobile phone use as impulsive choice: Development and empirical verification of a reinforcer-pathology model

Problematic mobile phone use is characterized by its "impulsive" nature; users engage in it despite their negative attitude toward it. From a behavioral-economic perspective, this attitude-behavior discrepancy is generated by competing contingencies that involve smaller-sooner social reinforcers associated with mobile phone use and larger-later prosocial reinforcers potentially compromised by phone use. Based on this conceptualization, the reinforcer-pathology model of problematic mobile phone use is proposed, which posits that such phone use stems from excessive delay discounting of the social and prosocial reinforcers and/or excessive demand for the social reinforcers. A secondary data analysis of previously published studies was conducted, with the novel addition of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis of these data. The results generated evidence that supports the reinforcer-pathology model proposed in this article. Based on the theoretical analyses and accumulated empirical evidence, theory-driven prevention and intervention strategies for problematic mobile phone use are proposed. Overall, the reinforcer-pathology model of problematic mobile phone use provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing this growing issue.

Relationship between smartphone addiction and eating disorders and lifestyle among Chinese college students

Purpose

Smartphone addiction has been a matter of serious concern among society and parents because of its high incidence and serious negative effects. This study aimed to determine the association between smartphone addiction and eating disorders and lifestyle changes among college students.

Methods

The present article is a descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 1,112 college students from several universities in Chengdu, China. The data were collected by using the Chinese version of the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). In addition, the information on sociodemographic, lifestyle, and smartphone use were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

The prevalence of smartphone addiction among the students involved in the study was 22.6%, of which 10.4% were at risk for eating disorders. Female students had higher MPAI scores and EAT-26 scores than male students (p < 0.001). The proportion of male students with a risk of eating disorders was significantly higher than that of female students (p < 0.05). The total EAT-26 scores of students with smartphone addiction were higher than that of others (p < 0.001). The correlation analysis indicated that the MPAI scores were significantly positively correlated with the EAT-26 scores, depression and anxiety, difficulty in falling asleep at night, the frequency of eating fast food and drinking carbonated soft drink (p < 0.01). In addition, the MPAI scores were significantly negatively correlated with skipping breakfast and the frequency of physical activity (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Smartphone addiction is significantly associated with eating disorders, eating habits, and lifestyle. The influence of dietary habits and lifestyle needs to be considered for the prevention and development of an intervention for smartphone addiction among college students.

Validation of the Food Purchase Task (FPT) in a clinical sample of smokers with overweight and obesity

Obesity is a major health problem associated with disease burden and mortality. In this context, analyzing food as a powerful reinforcer from a behavioral economics framework could be relevant for the treatment and prevention of obesity. The purposes of this study were to validate a food purchase task (FPT) in a clinical sample of Spanish smokers with overweight and obesity and to assess the internal structure of the FPT. We also analyzed the clinical utility of single-item breakpoint (i.e., commodity price that suppresses demand). A total of 120 smokers [% females: 54.2; M_age = 52.54; SD = 10.34] with overweight and obesity completed the FPT and weight/eating-related variables. Principal component analysis was used to examine the FPT structure, and a set of correlations were used to examine the relationship between the FPT, eating and weight-related variables. The FPT demonstrated robust convergent validity with other measures of eating. Higher food demand was related to higher food craving (r = .33), more binge eating problems (r = 0.39), more weight gain concerns (r = 0.35), higher frequency of both controlled (r = 0.37) and uncontrolled (r = 0.30) grazing, as well as to an eating style in response to emotions (r = 0.34) and external eating (r = 0.34). Of the demand indices, Intensity and O_max showed the highest magnitudes of effects. The FPT factors, persistence and amplitude, do not improve individual FPT indices; and the single-item breakpoint was not related to any eating or weight variable. The FPT is a valid measure of food reinforcement with potential clinical utility in smokers with obesity/overweight.

Understanding the construction of 'behavior' in smartphone addiction: A scoping review

It has been claimed that smartphone usage constitutes a behavioral addiction, characterised by compulsive, excessive use of one's phone and psychological withdrawal or distress when the phone is absent. However, there is uncertainty about key phenomenological and conceptual details of smartphone addiction. One of the central problems has been understanding the processes that link smartphone usage, and addiction. The question this paper aims to answer is straightforward: based on measures utilised in the literature, what does 'behavior' mean in the context of smartphone addiction? A scoping review of the smartphone addiction literature was undertaken. This identified 1305 studies collecting smartphone addiction data. Just under half (49.89%) of all published smartphone addiction papers did not report the collection of any smartphone specific behaviors. Those that did tended to focus on a small cluster of self-reported behaviors capturing volume of overall use: hours spent using a smartphone per day, number of pickups, duration of smartphone ownership, and types of app used. Approximately 10% of papers used logged behavioral data on phones. Although the theoretical literature places increasing focus on context and patterns of use, measurements of behavior tend to focus on broad, volumetric measures. The number of studies reporting behavior has decreased over time, suggesting smartphone addiction is becoming increasingly trait-like. Both major phone operating systems have proprietary apps that collected behavioral data by default, and research in the field should take advantage of these capabilities when measuring smartphone usage.

Symptoms of Nomophobia, Psychological Aspects, Insomnia and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study of ESports Players in Saudi Arabia

(1) Background: ESports is a new trend of sports, which has gained considerable popularity worldwide. There is a scarcity of evidence that focuses on the lifestyle of ESports players (eSP) particularly on symptoms of nomophobia, level of anxiety, sleep quality, food consumption and physical activity. (2) Objective: to determine the prevalence and relationship between symptoms of nomophobia, psychological aspects, insomnia and physical activity of eSP in Saudi Arabia. (3) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2021 using a convenient self-selection adult sample. A total of 893 (216 eSP vs. 677 non-eSP (NeSP)) participants aged over 18 years were included. All participants answered a seven-part validated questionnaire that included: (i) sociodemographic questions; (ii) a symptoms of nomophobia questionnaire; (iii) general anxiety disorder questions, (iv) an insomnia severity index, (v) an Internet addiction scale, (vi) the Yale food addiction scale 2.0 short form and (vii) an international physical activity questionnaire. (4) Results: Among the entire population, the prevalence of moderate to severe nomophobia, anxiety, insomnia, Internet addiction and low physical activity were 29.8%, 13.9%, 63.3%, 27% and 2.8%, respectively. The eSP and NeSP differed significantly in nomophobia scale, anxiety and insomnia values. Compared to NeSP, eSP had a higher level of severe nomophobia p = 0.003, a severe level of anxiety p = 0.025 and symptoms of insomnia p = 0.018. Except for food addiction and physical activity, a positive correlation was identified between symptoms of nomophobia, anxiety and insomnia among eSP. (5) Conclusion: This study reported high prevalence of nomophobia, anxiety and insomnia among eSP compared to NeSP.

Relationship between eating disorders and internet and smartphone addiction in college students

PURPOSE

This study was planned and conducted to determine the relation between eating behavior disorder and smartphones and the internet in college students.

METHODS

This research was performed on a total of 437 college students, including 116 males and 321 females. A questionnaire questioning the general characteristics (age, sex, department, socioeconomic status, skipping meal, number of main meals and snacks in a day, sleeping duration, doing physical activity, height, and body weight) of students was used. In addition, Eating Attitude Test-40 (EAT-40), Young's Internet Addiction Scale, and Smartphone Addiction Scale were used to measure eating behavior disorders, internet addiction, and smartphone addiction, respectively. Height and body weight were measured in accordance with the method.

RESULTS

12.6% of the students participating in the study were at risk for eating disorders. Female students had higher EAT-40 scores than male students. 13% of students had potential internet addiction. According to Pearson chi-square test, the prevalence of potential internet addiction (36.4%) in students with eating disorder was higher than those without eating disorder (9.7%) (p < 0.05). Pearson correlation analyses displayed that Smartphone Addiction Test score associated positively with EAT-40 score (r = 0.277) and Internet Addiction Test score (r = 0.665) and students' body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.121). In addition to these, students' duration of staying on the internet correlated with their BMI (r = 0.137). Males had a higher rate of potential internet addiction than females (22.4% in males and 9.7% in females, respectively) (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The present results suggest that students' duration of using the internet affects smartphone addiction and internet addiction, both of which influence eating behavior disorder. In addition, both smartphone and internet addiction and eating behavior disorder correlated positively and significantly with overweight.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V: cross-sectional descriptive study.

Perceived Stress and Cyberloafing among College Students: The Mediating Roles of Fatigue and Negative Coping Styles

Cyberloafing has increasingly attracted the attention of scholars because of the widespread use of digital devices in educational environments. This research was conducted to investigate the roles of fatigue and negative coping styles in mediating the relationship between perceived stress and cyberloafing. A total of 730 undergraduates (reduced to 716 due to incomplete data) completed self-report questionnaires measuring perceived stress, fatigue, negative coping styles, and cyberloafing. Perceived stress was shown to be a significant predictor of cyberloafing. Furthermore, negative coping styles played a unique mediating role and fatigue and negative coping styles exerted a sequential mediating effect on the association between perceived stress and cyberloafing. We envision the findings as being helpful in guiding educators develop interventions for minimizing cyberloafing by college students and its disrupting effects.

The neural basis underlying impaired attentional control in problematic smartphone users

As a portable media device that enables ubiquitous access to friends and entertainment, smartphones are inextricably linked with our lives. Although there is growing concern about the detrimental effect of problematic smartphone use on attentional control, the underlying neural mechanisms of impaired attentional control in problematic smartphone users (PSU) has yet to be investigated. Using a modified cognitive conflict task, we examined behavioral performance in the presence of distracting words during functional magnetic resonance imaging in 33 PSU and 33 control participants (CON). Compared with the CON group, the PSU group demonstrated impaired performance that was accompanied by constantly enhanced but not differentiated activation in the frontoparietal regions across all conditions, regardless of distractor saliency. The inferior parietal lobule (IPL) activation in the PSU group, in particular, showed an association with performance deficits in the distractor conditions. Furthermore, the PSU group exhibited decreased functional connectivity of the right IPL with the right superior temporal gyrus of the ventral attention system in the attention-demanding condition relative to the easiest condition, which was associated with the severe dependence on smartphone use. Our findings suggest that greater distractibility in the PSU group during the attentional control task may be associated with inefficient recruitment of the ventral attention network involved in bottom-up attentional processing, as indicated by hyperactivation but less coherence within the network. The present study provides evidence for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the impaired ability to keep attention from being oriented to task-irrelevant stimuli observed in PSU.

The Association between Symptoms of Nomophobia, Insomnia and Food Addiction among Young Adults: Findings of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

No previous research has examined the association between symptoms of nomophobia and food addiction. Similarly, only a few studies have examined the association between nomophobia and symptoms of insomnia. This exploratory study utilized an online self-administered, structured questionnaire that included: basic sociodemographic and anthropometrics; the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q); the insomnia severity index (ISI); and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) in a convenience sample of young adults (18–35 years) in Bahrain (n = 654), 304 (46%) males and 350 (54%) females. Symptoms of severe nomophobia, moderate-severe insomnia, and food addiction were more common among female participants both for each disorder separately and in combination; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. For severe nomophobia, the rate for females was 76 (21.7%) and for males was 57 (18.8%) p = 0.9. For moderate-severe insomnia, the rate for females was 56 (16%) and for males was 36 (11.84%) p = 0.1. For food addiction, the rate for females was 71 (20.29%) and for males was 53 (17.43%) p = 0.3. A statistically significant association was present between nomophobia and insomnia r = 0.60, p < 0.001. No association was found between nomophobia and food addiction. Nomophobia is very common in young adults, particularly in females; nomophobia is associated with insomnia but not with food addiction.

Do Age, Gender and Poor Diet Influence the Higher Prevalence of Nomophobia among Young People?

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is generating the emergence of new pathologies such as nomophobia. The aim of this research was to analyze the prevalence of nomophobia among young people, as well as to check whether the level of nomophobia is higher in males or females and in those students who claim to have less healthy nutrition due to the use of their mobile phones. The research method was based on a correlational and predictive design with a quantitative methodology. The measurement tool used is the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The participating sample was 1743 students between 12 and 20 years old from different educational stages of the Autonomous City of Ceuta (Spain). The results show that highest rates of nomophobia were found in relation to the inability to communicate and contact others immediately. About gender, women have higher rates of nomophobia than men. In relation to age, no significant differences were found; thus, the problem may affect all ages equally. Finally, students who think that their smartphone use is detrimental to their good nutrition show higher levels on the scale provided.

The effect of calling duration on cervical joint repositioning error angle and discomfort in university students

BACKGROUND

The time spent on mobile phone during daytime is increasing with the rapid life-style in young population for different purposes such as texting, calling etc. and the younger population is more dependent on networking with them.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to compare joint repositioning error angle in the cervical region between groups with regard to their daily calling duration on smartphone and to determine the relationship between daily calling duration and potential cervical pain and disability.

METHODS

Sixty-three university students were included in the study. Participants were divided concerning to their durations of daily calling durations on smartphones. The joint-repositioning-error sense, craniovertebral angle, cervicothoracic muscle strength, and endurance of neck flexors were measured and potential pain and disability levels were assessed.

RESULTS

University students who spending twenty minutes or more for calling on smartphone daily had significantly higher joint repositioning error sense. Additionally, it was determined that there was fair relationship between the daily calling time on smartphone and potential neck pain and disability.

CONCLUSIONS

The prolonged calling duration on smartphone could affect cervical joint repositioning error sense in university students. This might be related to potential discomfort on cervical region in the further period.

Emotion-related impulsivity moderates the cognitive interference effect of smartphone availability on working memory

Although recent studies suggest that the mere presence of a smartphone might negatively impact on working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, and attentional processes, less is known about the individual differences that are liable to moderate this cognitive interference effect. This study tested whether individual differences in emotion-related impulsivity traits (positive urgency and negative urgency) moderate the effect of smartphone availability on cognitive performance. We designed an experiment in which 132 college students (age 18–25 years) completed a laboratory task that assessed visual working memory capacity in three different conditions: two conditions differing in terms of smartphone availability (smartphone turned off and visible, smartphone in silent mode and visible) and a condition in which the smartphone was not available and was replaced by a calculator (control condition). Participants also completed self-reports that assessed their thoughts after the task performance, positive/negative urgency, and problematic smartphone use. The results showed that participants with higher positive urgency presented increased cognitive interference (reflected by poorer task performance) in the “silent-mode smartphone” condition compared with participants in the “turned-off smartphone” condition. The present study provides new insights into the psychological factors that explain how smartphone availability is liable to interfere with high-level cognitive processes.

A cluster analysis of text message users based on their demand for text messaging: A behavioral economic approach

The goal of this study was to determine whether cluster analysis could be used to identify distinct subgroups of text message users based on behavioral economic indices of demand for text messaging. Cluster analysis is an analytic technique that attempts to categorize cases based on similarities across selected variables. Participants completed a questionnaire about mobile phone usage and a hypothetical texting demand task in which they indicated their likelihood of paying an extra charge to continue to send text messages. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted on behavioral economic indices, such as demand intensity, demand elasticity, breakpoint, and the maximum expenditure. With the cluster analysis, we identified 3 subgroups of text message users. The groups were characterized by (a) high intensity and low elasticity, (b) high intensity and medium elasticity, and (c) low intensity and high elasticity. In a demonstration of convergent validity, there were statistically significant and conceptually meaningful differences across the subgroups in various measures of mobile phone use and text messaging. Cluster analysis is a useful tool for identifying and profiling distinct, practically meaningful groups based on behavioral indices and could provide a framework for targeting interventions more efficiently.

Conductas adictivas al juego Fortnite: evidencias experimentales de ejercicios de relajación en escolares

El comportamiento adictivo digital en la actualidad se ha incrementado en el público escolar en los últimos años, sobre todo en la adicción hacia los videojuegos. Este estudio se interesó por indagar en la reducción de las conductas adictivas hacia el juego Fortnite mediante una técnica de relajación basada en el método Koeppen. Se empleó un diseño de tipo preexperimental de investigación en 70 niños (χ = 10.8 años) de nivel socio económico medio bajo, utilizando encuestas preliminares para determinar la selección de los sujetos consumidores; para la medición aplicamos el test de dependencia hacia los videojuegos – TDV y el cuestionario de experiencias relacionadas con los videojuegos - CERV. Se concluyó como primera evidencia que los sujetos redujeron sus conductas compensatorias (dependencia y evasión), a su vez, el tiempo de permanencia en el consumo (horas y lugares) se redujo considerablemente. Sin embargo, las evidencias en la reducción de emociones hacia el juego permitieron aducir que la técnica de Koeppen presentó efectos reductivos del estrés escolar sin influir en la emocionalidad, debido a que los hallazgos describieron datos poco significativos para el estudio.

24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Impulsivity

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to examine individual and concurrent associations between meeting the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (9-11 hours of sleep per night, ≤2 hours of recreational screen time (ST) per day, and at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day) and dimensions of impulsivity.

METHODS

Data from this cross-sectional observational study were part of the first annual curated release of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Participants included 4524 children between the ages of 8 and 11 years.

RESULTS

In analyses, it was shown that adherence to individual movement behavior recommendations as well as combinations of adherence to movement behavior recommendations were associated with each dimension of impulsivity. Meeting all 3 movement behavior recommendations was associated with lower positive urgency (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.12 to -0.05), negative urgency (95% CI: -0.04 to -0.08), Behavioral Inhibition System (95% CI: -0.08 to -0.01), greater perseverance (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.15), and better scores on delay-discounting (95% CI: 0.57 to 0.94). Meeting the ST and sleep recommendations was associated with less impulsive behaviors on all dimensions of impulsivity: negative urgency (95% CI: -0.20 to -0.10), positive urgency (95% CI: -0.16 to -0.08), perseverance (95% CI: 0.06 to 0.15), Behavioral Inhibition System (95% CI: -0.15 to -0.03), Behavioral Activation System (BAS) reward responsiveness (95% CI: -0.04 to -0.05), BAS drive (95% CI: -0.14 to -0.06), BAS fun-seeking (95% CI: -0.15 to -0.17), and delay-discounting task (95% CI: 0.68 to 0.97).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support efforts to determine if limiting recreational ST while promoting adequate sleep enhances the treatment and prevention of impulsivity-related disorders.