Abstract
PURPOSE: Perceived discrimination among higher vocational college students is a prevalent issue in China and is linked to various mental and behavioral problems, including mobile phone addiction. Yet, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between perceived discrimination and mobile phone addiction remain ambiguous. METHODS: To address this issue, we recruited 1253 higher vocational college students to elucidate the relationship between perceived discrimination and mobile phone addiction. Participants completed a series of self-report questionnaires assessing perceived discrimination, mobile phone addiction, negative emotions, and learning burnout. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that perceived discrimination positively influences mobile phone addiction. The negative emotions and learning burnout play mediating effects between perceived discrimination and mobile phone addiction, respectively. Notably, we observe a chain mediating role of negative emotions and learning burnout play between perceived discrimination and mobile phone addiction. CONCLUSION: The results of our study demonstrate that higher vocational college students who perceived stronger discrimination are inclined to exhibit heightened emotional, cognitive, and learning challenges, such as increased negative emotions and learning burnout, which contribute to more serious excessive mobile phone use. These findings elucidate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between perceived discrimination and mobile phone addiction, enriching our understanding of the underlying emotional, cognitive, and learning dynamics in higher vocational college students.