-->PONE-D-26-24249-->-->The mediating roles of anxiety and loneliness in the relationship between sleep satisfaction and problematic smartphone use among adolescents-->-->PLOS One

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Thanks so much for the submission . I enjoyed reading through this well prepared manuscript. Please can I clarify - title could be made clearer as to suggest that this is a case study of a specific context i.e. a case study of adolescents in the Republic of Korea ( this enables the reader conceptualise possible systemic factors contributing to results). Can I check that the article outlines described consent meets the legal age of consent for the context , whether there were any incentives for response or even deterrents, whether there could be the possibility of recall /observer bias in responses and if there was any consideration of standardisation for confounders in responses (such as cultural, deprivation/inequality, home situation i.e. single parent, sexuality, comorbid mental illness etc; sadly as I am ignorant of this context are all the educational institutions rated of the same standard maybe?). The approach and the results are plausible and seem to be in keeping with the evidence shared however what was the unusual finding that stood out for you and why? Would you be able to opine with regards to current results if anxiety had a lower mediation effect than loneliness or not? I wonder if there are any other ways that the data can be approached and which you considered and discarded as well?

Would you like to consider itemising subheadings such as limitations or applications and recommendations as separate aspects rathe than embed within discussion and conclusion maybe?

I struggled to access references 17 and 30 which you outlined as published in 2025 but which my generic search brings up as 2023 - is this an error or are these papers blocked in my context maybe?

I must say I really enjoyed reading the article and appreciate the overt and subtle suggestions sprinkled in its writing- cant wait to se it in print and to hear further about the follow-on research. Thanks again for sharing.

Reviewer #2: Cross-sectional mediation cannot establish causal pathways.

Reliance on single-item measures for sleep satisfaction and loneliness.

Insufficient justification for dichotomizing PSU.

Need for stronger theoretical framework and must incorporate this fully

Figure mentioned missing

Hypotheses and null hypotheses incomplete

Methodology section silent on setting, tool, description, techniques of sampling

Limited discussion of residual confounding and reverse causality.

Cohens D missing

Study likely falls in SMRA as is based on secondary data analysis

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Reviewer #1: Yes:  Olubunmi Arogunmati

Reviewer #2: Yes:  Noorul Amin

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Sleep satisfaction and problematic smartphone use among adolescents in the Republic of Korea: The mediating roles of anxiety and loneliness

PONE-D-26-24249R1

Dear Dr. Cho,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Fucai Lin, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

-->Review Comments to the Author-->

Reviewer #1: Thanks for taking on board previous comments and providing explanations where not applied. I feel this is a well presented and logical argument that sets the tone and stage for further exploration and discussion about the subject matter especially in current climate of restriction of social media in children and young people as a protective public health and preventative mental health measure. It would be interesting to see how the wider public, policy makers, practitioners and researchers/academicians perceive what it suggests and if it acts as a point of galvanising social action to protect the next generation. Thanks again for your effort.

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

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