Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41559710›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2026

Mobile phone addiction as a mediator in the association between alexithymia and self-directed learning among Chinese nursing students: a structural equation modeling analysis.

Miaolan Guo, Quan Wang, Xiaojin Chen, Qingxian Liu, Miaoxuan Chen, Yuebao Fu, Jieli Wang, Jing Su

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Miaolan GuoDepartment of Nursing, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, China.
Quan WangDepartment of Nursing, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, China.
Xiaojin ChenDepartment of Nursing, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, China.
Qingxian LiuDepartment of Nursing, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, China.
Miaoxuan ChenThe First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.
Yuebao FuSchool of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Jieli WangJoint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shantou, China.
Jing SuDepartment of Nursing, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road, Shantou, 515000, Guangdong Province, China. jsu@stu.edu.cn.

Funding

2025 Teaching Research and Reform Project of Shantou University Medical College 25JXGG20CSP VA 589
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSelf-directed learning ability is an essential competency for nursing undergraduates to develop professional skills and adapt to evolving healthcare needs. However, the psychological and behavioral factors affecting self-directed learning remain understudied.

objectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the relationship between alexithymia, mobile phone addiction, and self-directed learning among nursing undergraduates.

methodsThis study involved 234 nursing undergraduates enrolled at a medical college located in southern China. The Scale of Competencies of Autonomous Learning of Nursing Undergraduates (SCALNU), the Mobile Phone Addiction Index Scale (MPAI) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were employed to assess self-directed learning ability, alexithymia, and mobile phone addiction respectively. Correlation analyses were employed to examine pairwise relationships among the three variables. Subsequently, multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify significant influence factors of self-directed learning. Then a structural equation modeling approach was utilized to examine the mediating effect of mobile phone addiction in the relationship between alexithymia and self-directed learning.

resultsThe mean scores for the SCALNU were 90.19 ± 10.10. Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between higher SCALNU scores and lower scores on the MPAI (r=-0.294, p < 0.01) and the TAS-20 (r=-0.383, p < 0.01). A multiple linear regression analysis showed that grade, only-child status, experience as class officials in high school, alexithymia, and mobile phone addiction were associated with SDL (all p < 0.01). The structural equation model analysis with a relatively good fit (χ²/df = 2.228, RMSEA = 0.073, CFI = 0.905, GFI = 0.917, and SRMR = 0.066) indicated that alexithymia has both a direct effect on SDL (β=-0.305, p = 0.014) and an indirect effect through mobile phone addiction on SDL (β=-0.120, p = 0.007), with a mediation effect accounting for 28.2% of the total effect.

conclusionMobile phone addiction significantly mediates the relationship between alexithymia and self-directed learning ability among nursing undergraduates, highlighting its potential as a modifiable target for interventions to enhance self-directed learning.

Indexed as

Affective SymptomsBehavior, AddictiveCell PhoneInternet Addiction DisorderSelf-Directed Learning as TopicStudents, NursingAdultChinaEast Asian PeopleFemaleHumansLatent Class AnalysisMaleYoung AdultAlexithymiaMobile phone addictionNursing undergraduatesSelf-directed learning

Identifiers

PMID41559710
PMCPMC12903252

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.