The Impact of University Students’ Smartphone Addiction on College Life Adjustment through Aggression and Depression

Introduction: In the present era, the use of smartphones for teaching, learning and communication for education in India has raised manyfold. The increasing use of smartphones in our daily life has brought about numerous musculoskeletal problems. Impairments of neck are the most common when compared to other parts of the body. Aim: To find out the impact of smartphone addiction on neck pain and disability. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on students from Garden City University aged between 18-25 years through non probability sampling technique. The data was collected from August to September 2019. The addiction level to a smartphone was measured using Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version (SAS-SV) and the Neck disability was measured using the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and were circulated. The questionnaires were shared with the students through electronic media and 108 subjects participated in it but only 100 were considered. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS 20.0 statistical software to correlate smartphone addiction scale and NDI. Spearman’s correlation test was performed to analyse the relationship between SAS-SV and NDI. Results: The Spearman correlation analysis clearly showed that there was a moderate positive correlation (r=0.682) between smartphone addiction and neck pain and neck disability in university students and the level of significance was p<0.01. Conclusion: This study concluded that longer use of smartphones would result in significant neck pain and disability. The students who were under the category of smartphone addicts would require ergonomic advice and education about the ill-effects of smartphone and the various musculoskeletal problems that may arise due to overuse.

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Addictive Use of Smartphones and Mental Disorders in University Students

Iranian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.18502/ijps.v15i2.2681 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Seyyed Salman Alavi ◽

Maryam Ghanizadeh ◽

Malihe Farahani ◽

Fereshteh Jannatifard ◽

Sudeh Esmaili Alamuti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

University Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Smartphone Addiction ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Logistic Regression Method ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Objective: Despite the awareness of smartphone addiction, low findings and lack of validated standards have led to insufficient information in this area. This study aimed to examine the relationship between mobile phone dependency and mental disorders in students in Iran, while controlling for the impact of gender, age, educational levels, and marital status. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 1400 university students (445 males and 955 females) aged 18-35 years were selected from 3 cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Karaj. The participants filled out a set of questionnaires: Cell Phone Dependency Questionnaire (CPDQ), Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory, and participated in interviews. Data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression method via SPSS-22 software. Results: In terms of controlling the demographic variables, the results revealed that bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, somatization, dependent personality disorder, and compulsive personality disorder could increase the possibility of mobile phone addiction by 4.2, 4.2, 1.2, 2.8, 3.1, and 3.2 folds, respectively (P < 0.05). However, other disorders and demographic characteristics did not have any significant effects on the equation. Conclusion: The results can help better understand the relationship between psychological syndromes and smartphone addiction and can also facilitate further studies in this field. In addition, those students with smartphone addiction should be provided with different preventative strategies. Moreover, a growing range of stimulating applications may trigger the risk of addiction.

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