Abstract
Abstract
Background.
This study examined adolescents’ planned smartphone use from a person-centered perspective, framed within the process model of self-control. Prior latent profile studies have defined profiles predominantly through problematic-use indicators; to our knowledge, planned use (the deliberate pre-specification of the duration, context, and purpose of use) has not previously served as a profile indicator.
Methods.
Latent profile analyses of planned smartphone use, operationalized through temporal, social/activity-based, and leisure-time self-control, were conducted in two independent high school samples (Study 1:
N
= 1277; Study 2:
N
= 472), and the associations of the profiles with external variables were tested using classification-error-corrected three-step approaches.
Results.
Three profiles emerged in both samples: social-focused planners (50%), non-planners (25%), and comprehensive planners (25%). The profile structure replicated closely across samples (Tucker’s φ = .958–.991) and was further corroborated by multi-group latent profile similarity testing. Smartphone addiction and phone involvement decreased in a graded fashion as the scope of planning widened; usage time was shorter among comprehensive planners than in the other two profiles, with daily usage approximately one hour shorter than among non-planners. A one standard deviation increase in dispositional self-regulation increased the odds of being a comprehensive planner rather than a non-planner more than fivefold. In both samples, approximately one in five adolescents reported no time-based planning at all.
Conclusions.
Findings indicate that planned use is a context-differentiated behavioral repertoire and that school-based prevention should be tailored to profiles.