Modeling the Mediating Effect of Anxiety on Cell Phone Addiction and Depression Among College Students: A Structural Equation Analysis

(1) Objective: This study aims to examine the relationships between college students' cell phone addiction, anxiety, and depression, and to explore the mediating role of anxiety in the association between cell phone addiction and depression. (2) Methods: Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. Independent samples t-tests and F-tests were employed to analyze differences in cell phone addiction (and its dimensions) across demographic variables. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the relationships among cell phone addiction, anxiety, and depression. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS was used to validate the hypothetical model, and regression analysis combined with the bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method was applied to test the mediating effect. (3) Results: College students' cell phone addiction showed significant differences by gender and grade. Their addiction characteristics were primarily reflected in prominent withdrawal symptoms, with a mean score of 16.64±5.40. Significant positive correlations were observed among cell phone addiction, anxiety, and depression (all p