The Relationship between the Factors That Direct Interpersonal Interaction: Mediation Role of Anxiety Sensitivity

The study's objective was to determine the mediation role of anxiety sensitivity in the relationship between interpersonal competence and phubbing. The study was an observational cross-sectional study based on the survey with the aim to determine the mediation role of anxiety sensitivity in the relationship between interpersonal competence and phubbing. In this context, data were collected from a convenience sample of 321 participants with the Phubbing Scale, Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Interpersonal Competence Scale (ICC)-Short Form. Data were analyzed with regression-based mediation analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient. The analysis demonstrated that phubbing was positively related to anxiety sensitivity and negatively related to interpersonal competence. Furthermore, the mediation analysis showed that the anxiety sensitivity had a mediating effect in the relationship between interpersonal competence and phubbing. Furthermore, the bootstrap (10000) method was used to determine whether the mediation analysis was significant. These findings suggest that the level of anxiety sensitivity partly explains the inverse relationship between interpersonal competence and phubbing. Research results both support previous research results and reveal new findings. The findings of the research indicate that anxiety sensitivity is more effective than interpersonal competence in phubbing.