Despite extensive research on the prevalence and mental health implications of problematic smartphone use in adolescents, the cognitive mechanisms underpinning its development, such as self-regulation, remain underexplored. This study aims to fill this research gap by investigating the developmental trajectories of self-regulation and problematic smartphone use among Canadian adolescents. Participants (N = 1303; 614 girls; Mage = 14.60 years, SD = 1.16 years) attended one of five public high schools in Southern British Columbia. Adolescents self-reported their self-regulation skills, as well as problematic smartphone use annually for three years. In line with developmental expectations, results indicated that both self-regulation and problematic smartphone use increased across the three years. Parallel latent growth models revealed significant intercept and positive slope differences for self-regulation and problematic smartphone use, showing that higher initial self-regulation predicted lower initial problematic smartphone use, and vice versa. Girls exhibited higher initial levels of problematic smartphone use, but gender differences in developmental trajectories were not observed. These findings emphasize the importance of early self-regulation skills in preventing the escalation of problematic smartphone use in adolescents, providing evidence-based insights for developing targeted interventions.

尽管对青少年有问题的智能手机使用的患病率和心理健康影响进行了广泛的研究，但支撑其发展的认知机制（例如自我调节）仍未得到充分探索。本研究旨在通过调查加拿大青少年自我调节的发展轨迹和智能手机使用问题来填补这一研究空白。参与者（ N = 1303；614 名女孩； M年龄 = 14.60 岁，SD = 1.16 岁）就读于不列颠哥伦比亚省南部五所公立高中之一。青少年每年都会自我报告他们的自我调节能力，以及智能手机使用问题，持续三年。与发展预期一致，结果表明，三年来，自我监管和有问题的智能手机使用都有所增加。平行潜在增长模型揭示了自我调节和有问题的智能手机使用的显着截距和正斜率差异，表明较高的初始自我调节预示着较低的初始有问题的智能手机使用，反之亦然。女孩最初表现出较高的智能手机使用问题水平，但没有观察到发育轨迹上的性别差异。这些发现强调了早期自我调节技能在防止青少年智能手机使用问题升级方面的重要性，为制定有针对性的干预措施提供了基于证据的见解。