Physical complaints and emotional symptoms in the context of series watching: a multicenter latent profile and network analysis in Brazil and Canada

Gilvano Amorim Oliveira, Cláudio Romualdo, Wanderlei Abadio de Oliveira, Laura Soares da Silva, Luciana Bertoldi Nucci, Adriana Scatena, Denise De Micheli, H S. Kim, Makilim Nunes Baptista, André Luiz Monezi Andrade

Introduction Few studies have examined the physical complaints, emotional aspects, behavioral indicators, and quality of life associated with series watching (PCSW) across cultural contexts. Methods This multicenter, cross-sectional study investigated latent profiles of PCSW and their associations with emotional variables, smartphone addiction, food addiction, quality of life, and series-watching intensity (SWI) among university students in Brazil ( n = 1,190) and Canada ( n = 306). Participants completed five author-developed PCSW self-report items, used as an operational measure rather than a validated scale, together with standardized measures of smartphone addiction (SAS-SV), emotion dysregulation (DERS-18), emotional symptoms (DASS-21), impulsivity (UPPS-P), food addiction (mYFAS 2.0; AEBS), and quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref). Results A latent profile analysis identified three profiles characterized by high (HPC), moderate (MPC), and low (LPC) levels of physical complaints. The HPC profile exhibited poorer emotional and behavioral indicators, higher levels of smartphone and food addiction, lower quality-of-life scores, and greater SWI. Spearman correlations revealed positive relationships between PCSW, emotional symptoms, emotion dysregulation, problematic smartphone use, and food addiction indicators, as well as negative relationships with quality of life. Network analysis indicated that depression, stress, and emotion-regulation difficulties formed a central core, with PCSW showing more peripheral connections to this core, particularly in relation to problematic smartphone use and emotion regulation. These connections were broadly similar across countries, with slightly stronger associations in Brazil and greater importance of addictive eating indicators in Canada. Discussion Our findings indicate that emotional and technological factors are associated with PCSW, underscoring the importance of emotion regulation, smartphone use, and SWI for students' wellbeing.