ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the role of mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms in the relationship between childhood psychological abuse and depressive symptoms among college students, in order to provide a basis for mental health promotion.@*Methods@#From February to May 2023, a stratified random sampling method was used to select 1 799 freshmen to juniors from a university in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The questionnaire survey was conducted using the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Child Psychological Maltreatment Scale (CPMS), Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale (MPATS), 2-item General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2). Correlations among each variable were analyzed, and the chain mediating effect of mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms was explored.@*Results@#The detection rate of depressive symptoms among college students was 9.7%, and the positive detection rate of childhood psychological abuse was 28.6%. Depressive symptoms were positively correlated with childhood psychological abuse, mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms ( r =0.28, 0.32, 0.27, P <0.01). Childhood psychological abuse was positively correlated with mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms ( r =0.29, 0.71, P <0.01). Mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms were positively correlated ( r =0.30, P <0.01). Childhood psychological abuse could effectively predict depressiove symptoms, mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms ( β =0.08, 0.06, 0.66, P <0.01). Mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms had a chain mediating effect between childhood psychological abuse and depression symptoms, with a total indirect mediating effect (effect=25.27%, P <0.05), accounting for 72.44% of the total effect.@*Conclusions@#Mobile phone addiction and anxiety symptoms play a chain mediating role between childhood psychological abuse and depressive symptoms. Focusing on childhood psychological abuse, mobile phone addiction and anxiety among college students are beneficial for depression symptoms prevention.