Fear of Missing Out and Aggression: Role of Fatigue, Daytime Sleepiness and Self-regulation-A Serial Mediation Model.

Background: Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a recent psychological phenomenon and has been constantly linked with aggression, disturbed sleeping habits and deficits in self-regulatory skills. It is important to understand the mechanism through which FOMO influences sleepiness, self-regulation and aggression. Purpose: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between FOMO and aggression in young adults and examine the mediating roles of fatigue, daytime sleepiness and self-regulation in the relationship between FOMO and aggression. Method: A cross-sectional correlational research design was employed to collect data from 455 young adults aged 18-24 years (M = 20.71; SD = 1.61). Data were collected through standardised self-report measures. The obtained data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v23, and sequential mediation analysis using AMOS v22. Results: Findings indicated significant relationships between FOMO and the outcome variables like aggression, daytime sleepiness and self-regulation. However, no significant relationship was found between FOMO and fatigue; therefore, fatigue was not considered for further analysis. Sequential mediation analysis revealed that elevated levels of FOMO predicted lower daytime sleepiness (β = -0.26, p < .001), which in turn predicted low self-regulation (β = -0.39, p < .001) and consequently led to elevated levels of aggression (β = -0.26, p < .001). The indirect route (FOMO → sleepiness → self-regulation → aggression) was statistically significant with excellent model fit (χ2(2) = 3.86, RMSEA = 0.02, CFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.01). Conclusion: The study indicates a full sequential mediation: greater FOMO levels reduce daytime sleepiness, possibly due to heightened arousal, which in turn leads to poor self-regulatory skills and increased aggression. It can be concluded that psychological interventions to improve self-regulation can help manage aggression in people with high levels of FOMO.