My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners

Highlights

• A valid scale of partner phubbing (Pphubbing) was developed.

• Pphubbing was found to have a negative impact on relationship satisfaction.

• Cell phone conflict mediated the impact of Pphubbing on relationship satisfaction.

• Attachment style moderated the Pphubbing – cell phone conflict relationship.

• Pphubbing was found to indirectly impact life satisfaction and depression.

Abstract

Partner phubbing (Pphubbing) can be best understood as the extent to which an individual uses or is distracted by his/her cell phone while in the company of his/her relationship partner. The present study is the first to investigate the oft-occurring behavior of Pphubbing and its impact on relationship satisfaction and personal well-being. In Study 1, a nine-item scale was developed to measure Pphubbing. The scale was found to be highly reliable and valid. Study 2 assessed the study's proposed relationships among a sample of 145 adults. Results suggest that Pphubbing's impact on relationship satisfaction is mediated by conflict over cell phone use. One's attachment style was found to moderate the Pphubbing – cell phone conflict relationship. Those with anxious attachment styles reported higher levels of cell phone conflict than those with less anxious attachment styles. Importantly, Pphubbing was found to indirectly impact depression through relationship satisfaction and ultimately life satisfaction. Given the ever-increasing use of cell phones to communicate between romantic partners, the present research offers insight into the process by which such use may impact relationship satisfaction and personal well-being. Directions for future research are discussed.

Introduction

Portmanteau (n) – a word whose form and meaning are derived from a blending together of two or more distinct words.

Phubbing is a portmanteau of the words “phone” and “snubbing”. To be phubbed is to be snubbed by someone using their cell phone when in your company. The “phubb” could be an interruption of your conversation with someone when he or she attends to their cell phone or when you are in close proximity to another but they use their cell phone instead of communicating with you. Partner phubbing (Pphubbing) is when the above takes place when in the company of your spouse or significant other. The ubiquitous nature of cell phones makes phubbing in general, or more specifically, Pphubbing a near inevitable occurrence. In fact, seventy percent of a sample of 143 females involved in romantic relationships reported that cell phones “sometimes”, “often”, “very often,” or “all the time” interfered in their interactions with their partners (McDaniel & Coyne, 2014). Other studies have found Pphubbing to be a common occurrence among romantic partners as well (Coyne, Stockdale, Busby, Iverson, & Grant, 2011; Lenhart & Duggan, 2014).

The present research investigates whether Pphubbing impacts relationship satisfaction and individual well-being. The potentially mediating impact of cell phone conflict (Coyne et al. 2011) and moderating effect of attachment style (Bowlby, 1969) are also investigated to better understand the process by which Pphubbing impacts relationship satisfaction amongst romantic partners.

The present study makes several important contributions to the current literature. First, we have built and validated a measure of Pphubbing. Valid and reliable scales are needed to advance our understanding of how technology impacts relationships. As a behavior that occurs regularly, Pphubbing should be at the forefront of any efforts to understand how cell phone use impacts romantic relationships. A second contribution is that the present study investigates how Pphubbing affects romantic relationships—an area of research that has received scant attention (McDaniel & Coyne, 2014). A third contribution is that the present study focuses on the impact of cell phone use on relationship satisfaction. To date, previous research has combined many different types of technology (television, computers, cell phones, iPads, and tablets) when investigating the impact of technology use on relationships obfuscating the unique role that any specific technology might play (Padilla-Walker, Coyne, & Fraser, 2012). A fourth contribution includes the potential mediating rule of cell phone conflict in the Pphubbing – relationship satisfaction link. Previous research suggests that it is not the time spent with technologies that impacts relationship satisfaction, but the conflict created by the technology use (Coyne et al., 2012). The present study also examines the potential moderating effect of attachment style on the Pphubbing—cell phone conflict relationship. A final contribution is that the present study investigates the impact of Pphubbing on personal well-being. Previous research suggests that cell phone use and texting can increase reported stress (Beranuy et al., 2009, Lepp et al., 2014) and unhealthy attachment to one's cell phone can increase symptoms of depression (Gentile, Coyne, & Bricolo, 2012; Harwood, Dooley, Scott, & Joiner, 2014). A sequential moderated-mediation model (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) is used to examine the hypothesized impact of Pphubbing on life satisfaction and depression.