Another way to title it "More evidence that neuroticism leads to marital dissatisfaction and dissolution"
Think about the process:
1. You decide/agree to fill out a survey (this is a form of selection bias already)
2. The survey asks you *to recall* experiences (this is both a form of bias of memory and neuroticism which causes you to ruminate on events in the past or what they might mean)
3. Then we make association (often interpreted as causal outside of the actual papers) that the examined behavior is the reason for the outcomes we've cherry picked.
Perhaps people on the brink of divorce phub more?
Perhaps the people are just neurotic about their partner's behavior? (notice, ruminate on, and ascribe negative meaning to their partner being on a phone)
Perhaps phubbing is just a coping mechanism for *the real cause of damage* in the marriage?