Journal of behavioral addictionsJan 15, 2024

Mobile phone addiction linked to suicide behaviors in Chinese teens, partly due to poor sleep quality

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Updated Apr 2, 2026

Abstract

The prevalence of (MPA) among adolescents is 26.2%.

affects 23.1% of adolescents and is linked to MPA.
Approximately 24.4% of participants reported engaging in over the past year.
Suicide ideation and planning are significantly associated with MPA, with odds ratios of 1.22 and 1.18, respectively.
MPA directly influences suicide behaviors, with a standardized effect size of 0.145.
Poor sleep quality mediates the relationship between MPA and suicide behaviors, accounting for 46.7% of the effect.
Rural females show the highest prevalence of MPA, poor sleep quality, and suicide behaviors.

Simplified

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: (MPA) is emerging among adolescents, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the correlation between MPA and and its mechanism. The objective of the current study is exploring the direct effect of MPA on suicide behaviors and the indirect effect through .

METHODS: A total of 18,900 Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 18 were recruited via a multi-stage cluster sampling method.

RESULTS: The prevalence of MPA and poor sleep quality was 26.2 and 23.1%, respectively. During the past year, 24.4% participants were involved in suicide behaviors. Specifically, suicide ideators, suicide planners, and suicide attempters were 10.7, 8.4, and 5.3%, respectively. Particularly, rural females had the highest prevalence of suicide behaviors, MPA, and poor sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis showed that MPA was significantly associated with suicide ideators (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.09-1.37, p < 0.001) and planners (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04-1.34, p < 0.05), but not for suicide attempters (p > 0.05). Structural equation modelling demonstrated that MPA had direct effect on suicide behaviors (β = 0.145, 95% CI = 0.127-0.160), and poor sleep quality partially mediated the relationship (the mediating ratio was 46.7%). The mediating ratio of poor sleep quality was the highest in urban males.

CONCLUSIONS: MPA has both direct and indirect effects on suicide behaviors. For suicide prevention, limited mobile phone use and improvement sleep quality may be practical for adolescents. Additionally, more efforts of intervention could give priority to rural girls.

Key numbers

26.2%

Prevalence of

Percentage of adolescents reporting .

24.4%

Prevalence

Percentage of participants involved in .

46.7%

Mediation Ratio of

Percentage representing the mediating effect of .

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Mobile phone addiction linked to suicide behaviors in Chinese teens, partly due to poor sleep quality

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