FoMO and cyberstalking in adults: the mediating roles of early maladaptive schemas and phubbing

Introduction – It is noticeable that cyberstalking behavior, which has become widespread in recent years and has many negative effects, has been investigated to a limited extent. This study aimed to analyse the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas of abandonment and insufficient self-control and phubbing in the relationship between FoMO and cyberstalking among adult individuals. Methods – The study group comprised 540 adults aged 18–48 (71.1% female and 28.9% male). We adopted Pearson correlation analysis and PROCESS Macro Model 80 in regression analysis to explore the relationships among cyberstalking, FoMO, early maladaptive schemas and phubbing. Results – The results showed that there were significant relationships between the study variables. Also, results show that early maladaptive schemas of abandonment and insufficient self-control and phubbing mediate the relationship between FoMO and cyberstalking. Discussion – These findings suggest that the abandonment schema may be associated with FoMO-related cyberstalking through a theoretically informed pathway that may reflect attachment-related vulnerabilities, whereas the insufficient self-control schema may reflect a possible self-regulation-related dimension that may be associated with FoMO-related digital behaviors of this process. The inclusion of phubbing in the model further indicates that FoMO-related attentional and relational dysregulation may be linked to monitoring-oriented online behaviors. In this regard, these findings may provide a theoretical perspective for future studies examining attachment-related schema sensitivities, self-regulation processes, and mindful technology use in relation to FoMO-related digital behaviors.