Abstract

Adolescents’ addictive use of smartphones has been the focus of clinical attention. Gray’s neuropsychological systems, behav- ioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS), consistently predict smartphone overdependence (SO) across various age groups. Additionally, peer pressure (PP)— as it relates to smartphone usage — is considered a notable fac- tor and one which wields significant influence on adolescents. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the relative im- pact of intra-individual factors, BAS/BIS, and peer-related factor, PP, on adolescents’ SO. Furthermore, the study sought to explore whether these two factors interact with each other in influencing adolescents’ SO. We collected data from 489 Korean middle school students and analyzed the data separately by gender, considering potential gender differences in the interrela- tionships among variables based on prior research findings. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation among BAS/ BIS, PP, and SO. Furthermore, BAS/BIS and PP were confirmed to significantly predict SO with no gender differences. How- ever, the moderation effect was only significant in the male group. Based on these findings, we discussed preventive interven- tions concerning adolescents, limitations, and suggestions for further research.