A recent study carried out by Undergraduate students Kaley Aukerman, Madi Kenna and Ryan Padgett, along with their Professor Alex Holte at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, made a significant finding on the unhealthy implications of smartphone use on individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is a mental health disorder characterized by distressing, unwanted thoughts resulting in repetitive, disruptive behaviors.

Published in the journal Current Psychology, the research discusses the effect of OCD symptoms on a person's level of Problematic Smartphone Use. Under the guidance of Assistant Psychology Professor Dr. Alex Holte, the students involved used multiple measures to gauge obsessive-compulsive behavior, fear of missing out, anxiety, boredom and PSU levels among more than 400 individuals.

According to their findings, people with OCD of a clinical degree are more likely to demonstrate PSU, in contrast to those with non-clinical levels of OCD. Interestingly, it was also ascertained that fear of missing out and boredom played a significant role in the correlation between OCD and PSU.

Dr. Holte referred to the compensatory internet use theory in which individuals counteract negative emotions through tech usage. He detailed how individuals with OCD tend to seek certainty, resorting to their phones to validate or dismiss their OCD-related fears.

The study successfully expands on the connection between OCD and PSU by suggesting that OCD predicts propensity for boredom, fear of missing out, and inhibitory anxiety. Such elements may lead an individual with OCD to obsessively check their phones. The valuable insight provided by the study potentially assists in further understanding how OCD patients are impacted by smartphone usage and how the behavior can evolve into an addiction.

To the team's delight, Current Psychology promptly expressed a positive response to their submission, and the study was published online in the fall, shortly after its submission. Dr. Holte expressed his esteem for the team's achievement, acknowledging the rarity of undergraduate students achieving publication due to the typically prolonged publication process.

For the student authors, being published was an unexpected but welcome event. However, they also incredibly value the research process and the valuable experience of understanding the documentation of their findings. Moving forward, the team plans to delve into the dynamic of how smartphone usage is perceived as either a sanctuary from personal problems or a stressor requiring frequent attention.