The Mediating Role of Self-Alienation between Fear of Covid-19 and Smartphone Addiction

Abstract

: The Covid-19 pandemic, which affected all areas of life, also continues to affect addiction situations. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationships among self-alienation, fear of Covid-19 and smartphone addiction. Within the scope of the research, 4 hypotheses were tested within the quantitative design. Using the “Structural Equation Model” (SEM), the mediating role of “Self-alienation” between “Fear of Covid-19” and “Smartphone Addiction” was examined. This study included 619 university students who were enrolled in the 2021-2022 academic year. These students were 429 (69.3%) female and 190 (30.7%) male. Participants are studying via distance education. Data were obtained with “Personal Information Form”, “Fear of Covid-19 Scale”, “Alienation Scale” and “Smartphone Addiction Scale”. As a result of the research, the mediating role of self-alienation was found. In addition, the participants got high level scores of “Fear of Covid-19”, “Self-alienation” and “Smartphone Addiction”, due to the epidemic.