The association between the Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder: A meta-analysis

The association between the Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder: A meta-analysis. Davide Marengo et al. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, Oct 3 2020. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00069

Abstract

Background and aims: Personality is one of the most frequently investigated variables to shed light on the putatively addictive use of the smartphone. By investigating associations between personality and individual differences in addictive smartphone use, researchers aim to understand if some personality traits predispose technology users to develop addictive behaviors. Here, based on existing empirical literature, we aimed at determining the strength of associations between Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder (SmUD) by a meta-analytic approach.

Method: For each Big Five personality trait, we performed a meta-analysis of correlations representing their association with SmUD. We also investigated possible publication bias and the moderating effects of age, gender, nationality, length of personality assessments, and time of publication.

Results: We found n = 26 eligible studies. In line with both the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model and the framework on problematic mobile-phone use by Billieux, we observed a positive association between Neuroticism and SmUD (r = 0.25), while the association between Extraversion and SmUD was not significant. Partially in line with the aforementioned theoretical frameworks, Conscientiousness was negatively associated with SmUD (r = −0.16). Remaining traits showed smaller associations. No significant publication bias emerged. Moderator analyses showed that time of publication moderated the link between Conscientiousness and SmUD. Moreover, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness showed a heightened inverse association with SmUD among older samples.

Conclusions: The present meta-analysis provides robust empirical evidence that Big Five personality traits can help to understand individual differences in SmUD, supporting the usefulness of their assessment when planning and targeting interventions aimed at at-risk individuals.

Discussion

The aim of the present work was to perform a meta-analysis of studies investigating the link between personality and SmUD. In light of available theories on SmUD it has been proposed that from the Big Five of personality, in particular Neuroticism should be positively related to SmUD severity. This association could indeed be observed (r = 0.25) giving support for Billieux's (2012) idea of an existing relationship assurance pathway. In this realm, individuals with higher scores on Neuroticism are more likely to develop higher tendencies towards SmUD due to seeking reaffirmation of being part of a social group via excessively checking social media apps, etc. (e.g., Marengo, Poletti, & Settanni, 2020). In fact, recent work has supported the relationship between greater levels of excessive reassurance seeking and SmUD severity (Elhai et al., 2020).

The second strongest associations among the Big Five personality traits was an inverse link between Conscientiousness and SmUD severity (r = −0.16). Such an association was not discussed in the work by Billieux (2012), but appears in the I-PACE model by Brand et al. (2016). In general, we believe such an inverse association to be a good fit with the large body of substance use disorder literature mentioning that individuals with low self-regulation abilities (see also links with low self-directedness out of Cloninger's biosocial theory of personality; Cloninger, 1994) are prone to develop higher addictive tendencies in many areas (Sariyska et al., 2014; Terracciano, Löckenhoff, Crum, Bienvenu, & Costa, 2008). Not surprisingly, low Conscientiousness has also been linked to lower health behavior (Bogg & Roberts, 2004). We believe that low Conscientiousness did not appear to be of relevance in Billieux's framework, because such an association has appeared only recently in the literature, due to smartphones probably having developed into more “addictive” devices over time, given the many social media and Freemium games available (Montag, Lachmann, et al., 2019). This idea is supported by our meta-analysis, showing that such Conscientiousness–SmUD associations have been stronger in recent years compared to what has been published in the early years of the smartphone era.

As expected from the model by Billieux (2012), Extraversion was not linked to SmUD in our meta-analysis. Therefore, fulfillment of the urge to communicate and socialize with other individuals via the smartphone (and the respective applications) may not result in addictive behavior related to the smartphone, hence, SmUD. Therefore, social use of the smartphone seems not to contribute to SmUD (Elhai, Hall, et al., 2017; Elhai, Levine, et al., 2017). As regards the Agreeableness and Openness traits, overall associations with SmUD were negative, but small-sized.

The present study also investigated gender- and age-related differences in the association between personality and SmUD. We did not find indicators of gender differences in the association between personality and SmUD. Regarding age, we found that the negative associations between SmUD and Conscientiousness as well as Agreeableness were stronger in samples including older adults, when compared to samples of adolescents and young adults. These findings may be understood in light of known age-related changes in these personality traits (e.g., both traits are known to be higher among older adults when compared to young adults; Allemand, Zimprich, & Hendriks, 2008; Donnellan & Lucas, 2008), and personal responsibilities – e.g., work and family responsibilities. Because individuals high on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness are more likely to use problem-focused and social-support coping strategies when dealing with daily stressors (Penley & Tomaka, 2002), they may be less likely to use technology (e.g., smartphones) as a form of avoidance strategy (Busch, P. A., & McCarthy, 2020). As individuals enter adulthood, and responsibilities increase, these traits may play a key role in helping them deal more successfully with stress (for such personality changes see Bleidorn, Hopwood, & Lucas, 2018), and ultimately protect them from developing SmUD.

The present meta-analysis also provided us with the opportunity to investigate potential publication bias in the literature. We failed to find consistent evidence of publication bias for any of the Big Five–SmUD associations. In sum, publication bias does not play a role in the present work. Additionally, from a psychometric point of view, we could not find significant evidence that length of personality assessment affected the strength of association between personality and SmUD.

At the same time, by taking a broad look at existing studies exploring the association between personality and SmUD, the present study was able to highlight existing limitations in the current literature. Our biggest concerns relate to the scarcity of studies recruiting representative samples, as the majority of the studies surveyed in this manuscript employed convenience samples. Moreover, there appears to be an overrepresentation of studies performed on samples of university students, typically showing an overrepresentation of women. For this reason, generalizability of results to the general population appears limited. Finally, most of the selected studies were implemented in English-speaking or European countries, while studies from other regional and cultural areas were scant, suggesting the need for increased diversity in this research area. This is particularly important given existing known cultural differences in the distribution of personality traits (e.g., Neuroticism, Lynn & Martin, 1995; Openness, Schmitt, Allik, McCrae, & Benet-Martínez, 2007), and their association with health-related outcomes, potentially including SmUD.

Limitations and directions for future research

The present work has several limitations. First of all, the present meta-analysis investigated cross-sectional studies. For this reason, it is not clear whether certain personality traits actually result in higher or lower SmUD, or whether such individual differences in personality are a result of the addictive smartphone use. Both directions of effects are possible. For example, spending an increasing amount of time on the smartphone most likely leads to neglecting other duties, e.g., work tasks, which might also result in a less conscientious self-description. Nevertheless, personality is rather stable (Edmonds, Jackson, Fayard, & Roberts, 2008) (but see for recent evidence how personality changes due to critical life events in Bleidorn et al. (2018)) and in line with theory (Billieux, 2012; Brand et al., 2016), we believe the former explanation to be true (i.e., individual differences in personality result in higher or lower SmUD). Still, it must be acknowledged that also in the I-PACE model feedback loops are included, which suggest an effect (not only from personality to SmUD but also) from SmUD on personality. In conclusion, future research should consider adopting a longitudinal approach, as this would help clarify the directions of emerging links between personality and SmUD. A second limitation is the focus of our meta-analysis on the Big Five personality traits. Although the Big Five are the most widely studied traits in the literature dealing with SmUD, a focus on other personality traits can also be important. For example, Billieux (2012) mentioned the relevance of the impulsivity trait, which is not covered in the present work. In detail, Billieux (2012) proposes an impulsive pathway describing individuals with low self-regulation abilities, and heightened risk behavior in the context of smartphones such as using the phone while driving. Another limitation concerns our inability to determine the prevalence of smartphone use in the samples of some of the studies published in early days of the smartphone era, which may have included individuals currently using mobile phones with limited Internet capabilities (i.e., mobile phones using GSM technology). Findings concerning the effect of time of publication on the association between personality and SmUD should be considered in light of this limitation.

Finally, the relatively small number of studies surveyed here limited our ability to detect small-sized moderation effects, leading to low statistical power when performing meta-regressions. As availability of newer studies will increase, the ability to detect these effects will improve. In particular, as noted above, there appears to be a need for more studies performed on samples including a more balanced representation of gender and age groups. Lack of representative samples also represents an important limitation of existing literature, limiting generalizability of results to the general population.