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Abstract
Smartphone use in the United States is prevalent with 81% of adults owning them (Gramlich, 2019). The present study proposes attachment and Winnicott’s transitional objects (1954) as models for understanding smartphone use. A random-controlled, between-subject, single-factorial design, with three levels of smartphone presence (Own Phone, No Phone, and Other Phone) was used for the study. Participants in the Own Phone group kept their phones throughout the study. Participants in the No Phone group had their phones confiscated during the study. Participants in the Other Phone group had their phones replaced with an unfamiliar phone during the study. Smartphone presence was manipulated to explore its effects on state attachment (ECR-RS), state anxiety (STAI form Y-1), smartphone attachment (MAQ), and health self-efficacy (SRAHP). MANOVA analyses were used to explore potential differences between conditions. In partial support of hypothesis 3, results of the MANOVA analysis indicated that there was not a significant effect of smartphone presence on smartphone attachment (F(26, 162) = 1.066, p = .387; Wilks' Λ = .729; partial η2 = .146). However, results of this analysis also did not support hypotheses 1 and 2, that phone presence would influence on state attachment and state anxiety. A significant main effect of health self-efficacy was found (F(2, 93) = 3.317, p < .05, partial η2 = .067). Post-hoc analysis indicated that participants reports of health self-efficacy were significantly higher in the Own Phone (M = 9.584, SD = .71) condition compared to the No Phone condition (M = 9.057, SD = .94) (p <. 05). Implications of these findings are expanded upon in the Discussion section of this document. Additionally, strengths and limitations of this study and recommendations for future study directions are addressed.