Relationship between Academic Adjustment and Academic Stress in Students: Mediated by Smartphone Addiction

The growing use of smartphones increased the mental dependence of adolescents on these devices and reduced their social interactions. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of smartphone addiction in the relationships between academic adjustment and academic stress in high school students. In this cross-sectional study, the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to analyze the relationship between variables. The statistical population included all female high school students of Ahvaz (Iran) within the 2022–23 academic year. The stratified cluster sampling method was employed to select 406 female students as the research sample. The research instruments included the Academic Adjustment Scale, Academic Stress Scale, and Mobile Phone Addiction Scale. The proposed model was evaluated through SEM, whereas the indirect relationships were tested through bootstrapping. The results indicated that there was a negative significant relationship between academic stress and academic adjustment (P<0.001). Moreover, there was a positive significant relationship between academic stress and smartphone addiction, whereas a significant negative relationship was observed between smartphone addiction and academic adjustment (P<0.001). There was also an indirect significant path from smartphone addiction to academic adjustment (P<0.001). According to research results, the proposed model was a good fit. Hence, it is considered a major step in identifying the effective factors in the academic adjustment of students. In general, by reducing academic stress and addiction to smartphones, it is possible to increase academic adjustment among high school students.