Longitudinal bidirectional relationships between problematic smartphone use and psychotic-like experiences among young adults: The mediating role of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Although prior research has indicated that problematic social media use is associated with psychiatric disorders, few studies have specifically investigated the bidirectional relationship between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), as well as the mediating role of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). To address these gaps, the present study employed a three-wave longitudinal design, integrating Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling (CLPM) and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling (RI-CLPM) to explore these relationships in depth. A total of 6153 college students (79.7% females; 20.06 ± 1.36 years) completed three waves of longitudinal data collection at six-month intervals. Participants self-reported measures of PSU, PLEs, EDS, as well as several covariates, including age, sex, family socioeconomic status, body mass index, smoking, and drinking behaviors. The CLPM results revealed longitudinal associations among PSU, PLEs, and EDS. After accounting for stable between-person differences, the RI-CLPM provided no evidence for a bidirectional association between PSU and PLEs at the within-person level. Instead, the RI-CLPM results supported a unidirectional within-person pathway, whereby increases in PLEs at Time 1 were associated with subsequent increases in PSU at Time 3 via increases in EDS at Time 2. This study highlights the significant role of PLEs in PSU and suggests that young adults with PLEs accompanied by EDS tend to report higher PSU over time. Moreover, EDS may serve as a potential intervention target for PSU.