Reciprocal dynamics of career adaptability and smartphone addiction among Chinese adolescents: The mediating role of academic cynicism

Abstract

This study examined the dynamic relationships among career adaptability, academic cynicism, and smartphone addiction in Chinese adolescents. Drawing on career construction theory, we proposed that career adaptability would be negatively associated with subsequent smartphone addiction and that smartphone addiction would, in turn, be negatively associated with subsequent career adaptability, with academic cynicism mediating both associations. Data were collected across three waves at 6‐month intervals: T1 ( N  = 1923), T2 ( N  = 1550), and T3 ( N  = 1177). Using latent‐variable cross‐lagged panel models, we found support for the reciprocal longitudinal associations between career adaptability and smartphone addiction from T1 to T3. Moreover, academic cynicism at T2 mediated both longitudinal associations. These findings offer valuable insights for interventions aimed at strengthening career adaptability, sustaining students' sense of meaning in learning, and reducing problematic smartphone use among adolescents.