The Association Between Neuroticism and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use: The Role of Fear of Missing out and Self-Control

Problematic use of social networking sites (SNS) has a negative impact on mental health. It has been found that people who score high on neuroticism are especially vulnerable towards engaging with SNS in a problematic way but it is not clear which psychological mechanisms explain this relationship. We addressed this issue by examining the mediating role of fear of missing out and self-control in the relationship between neuroticism and problematic SNS use. For this purpose, we conducted a cross-sectional study (n = 151, 69.5% female, Mage = 26.23, SD = 7.52) and tested for parallel mediation using structural equation modelling. Neuroticism was found to be predictive of increased levels of problematic SNS use. Moreover, neuroticism was associated with both increased levels of fear of missing out and decreased levels of self-control. However, only fear of missing out was found to robustly mediate the relationship between neuroticism and problematic use of SNS. These findings suggest that fear of missing out could be an intervention target to prevent people scoring high on neuroticism from engaging in problematic SNS use.社交网络站点（Social Networking Sites, SNS）的问题性使用会对心理健康造成负面影响。已有研究表明，神经质（neuroticism）得分较高的人群更易出现问题性SNS使用行为，但目前尚未明确支撑这一关联的心理机制。本研究针对这一研究空白，通过探讨错失恐惧（fear of missing out, FOMO）与自我控制在神经质与问题性SNS使用之间的中介作用展开分析。为此，本研究开展了一项横断面研究（有效样本量n=151，女性占比69.5%，平均年龄Mage=26.23岁，标准差SD=7.52），并采用结构方程模型（Structural Equation Modeling, SEM）检验了平行中介效应。研究结果显示，神经质特质可正向预测问题性SNS使用程度的提升；此外，神经质特质与错失恐惧水平升高及自我控制水平降低均存在显著关联。但仅发现错失恐惧能够显著中介神经质与问题性SNS使用之间的关联。本研究结果表明，错失恐惧可作为干预靶点，帮助神经质得分较高的人群规避问题性SNS使用行为。