Relationship between University Student’s Smartphone Dependence and Sleep Quality: Mediating Effect of University Student’s Anxiety

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify smartphone dependence among the factors affecting sleep quality in college students, to determine the degree of direct and indirect influence between the factors affecting sleep quality in college students, and to determine the mediating effect of anxiety between smartphone dependence and sleep quality. Design/Methodology/Approach - A survey was conducted among male and female college students enrolled in universities in the Daejeon and Chungcheong regions, and a total of 276 copies were used for the final analysis. IBM SPSS Amos 28 was used to analyze the causal relationship by structural equation model through confirmatory factor analysis and model fit analysis. Findings - In the relationship between smartphone dependence and sleep quality, college student anxiety influenced poorer sleep quality in college students through partial mediation (-0.23, p < 0.001). Research Implications - This study suggests that excessive smartphone dependence among college students is not only associated with insufficient sleep duration and poor sleep quality, but also with anxiety in certain areas, and that anxious psychological states lead to further engagement with smartphones, which significantly decreases sleep quality. As an alternative, researchers may be able to alleviate psychological anxiety symptoms through interventions such as programs to improve sleep quality among college students with high smartphone dependence.