A new GLO Discussion Paper using data of Belgian students finds no statistically significant mediating effect of sleep quality in the relationship between smartphone use and academic performance.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 879, 2021

Deteriorated sleep quality does not explain the negative impact of smartphone use on academic performance – Download PDF
by Amez, Simon & Vujić, Sunčica & Abrath, Margo & Baert, Stijn

GLO Fellows Suncica Vujic & Stijn Baert

Author Abstract: University students’ smartphone use has recently been shown to negatively affect their academic performance. Surprisingly, research testing the empirical validity of potential mechanisms underlying this relationship is very limited. In particular, indirect effects of negative health consequences due to heavy smartphone use have never been investigated. To fill this gap, we investigate, for the first time, whether deteriorated sleep quality drives the negative impact on academic performance. To this end, we examine longitudinal data on 1,635 students at two major Belgian universities. Based on a combination of a random effects approach and seemingly unrelated regression, we find no statistically significant mediating effect of sleep quality in the relationship between smartphone use and academic performance.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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