title: A socio-cognitive inquiry of excessive mobile phone use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study examined the predictive ability of selected demographic and socio-psychological characteristics in explaining excessive mobile phone use (EMPU) behavior and problematic use in a sample of university students on the basis of the social cognitive theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 476 randomly selected university students in Tabriz, Iran. The study was cross-sectional in nature. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used for the purpose of data collection. No causal inferences were drawn due to non-experimental nature of the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that having boyfriend/girlfriend increases the likelihood of EMPU while self-efficacy to avoid EMPU decreases it. Self-efficacy to avoid EMPU, self-regulation, observational learning, self-control, and attitude toward EMPU were predictors of mobile phone problematic use. The results provided a proper fit for a conceptual model of reciprocal determinism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although social cognitive constructs may predict mobile phone problematic use, they are not useful in predicting the behavior of EMPU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pourrazavi
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychiatry Research Center, Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: allahverdipourh@tbzmed.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Allahverdipour
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Research Center, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Asghari
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jafarabadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matlabi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012919:Social Behavior; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Excessive mobile phone use; Mobile phone problematic use; Social cognitive theory