Attention deficit hyperactivity symptoms predict problematic mobile phone use

Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorder characterised by inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, or both. Some of the key traits of ADHD have previously been linked to addictive and problematic behaviours. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between problematic mobile phone use, smartphone addiction risk and ADHD symptoms in an adult population. A sample of 273 healthy adult volunteers completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale (MPPUS), and the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). A significant positive correlation was found between the ASRS and both scales. More specifically, inattention symptoms and age predicted smartphone addiction risk and problematic mobile phone use. Our results suggest that there is a positive relationship between ADHD traits and problematic mobile phone use. In particular, younger adults with higher level of inattention symptoms could be at higher risk of developing smartphone addiction. The implication of our findings for theoretical frameworks of problematic mobile phone use and clinical practice are discussed

Smartphone addiction proneness in relation to sleep and morningness–eveningness in German adolescents

Background Mobile phones are an important part of adolescents’ life. In this study, the relationships among smartphone addiction, age, gender, and chronotype of German adolescents were examined. Materials and methods Two studies focused on two different measures of smartphone addiction. The Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS) was applied to 342 younger adolescents (13.39 ± 1.77; 176 boys, 165 girls, and 1 not indicated) in Study 1 and the Smartphone Addiction Scale was applied to 208 older adolescents (17.07 ± 4.28; 146 girls and 62 boys) in Study 2, both samples in southwest Germany. In addition, a demographic questionnaire and the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) and sleep measures were implemented. Results The most remarkable result of this study was that morningness–eveningness (as measured by CSM scores) is an important predictor for smartphone addiction; even stronger than sleep duration. Evening oriented adolescents scored higher on both smartphone addiction scales. In addition, gender is an important predictor for smartphone addiction and girls are more prone to become addicted. In addition, while sleep duration on weekdays negatively predicted SAPS, age, sleep duration on weekends, and midpoint of sleep on weekdays and weekends did not predicted smartphone addiction in both scales. The analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant effects of the covariates gender and age in both studies, as well as the main effect of chronotype. According to the t-test results, girls had higher scores than boys in smartphone addiction. Conclusion Evening types and girls are more prone to become smartphone addicted

Problematic whatsApp use among adolescents: linking fear of missing out and psychiatric symptoms

Objective: WhatsApp (WA) is the most popular instant message application all over the world. Although communication has become easier and enjoyable with the help of this application, the overuse, and addiction of WA has become an important problem among adolescents. WhatsApp addiction is a part of problematic smartphone use (PSU). When we examined previous studies, we found that the samples were generally composed of young adults, but studies on adolescents who are at high risk for problematic Whatsapp use (PWU) were insufficient, and almost no studies were conducted in the clinical adolescent sample. In this study, we aimed to increase our knowledge about problematic PWU and possible risk factors including fear of missing out (FoMO), PSU, and psychiatric symptoms among adolescents who applied to outpatient psychiatry clinics.Methods: 197 adolescents (136 boys, 61 girls, age: 12-18 years) recruited the study. Problematic Mobile Phone Usage Scale (PMPUS), Bergen Whatsapp Addiction Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale were used.Results: We grouped the sample as PWU (Problematic WhatsApp use) and Normal Use group due to Bergen WA Addiction Scale. PWU group’s adolescents were significantly older than others (p=0.03), and had higher scores in all subscales of Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), FoMO and PMPUS (for all scale scores p<0.001). Regression analysis demonstrated that FoMO is a predictor of PWU. Also, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, phobic anxiety, and somatization had a positive effect (ß=1.80, 0.98, 1.26, 0.52; respectively) while obsession compulsion and depression had a negative effect on PWU (ß=-0.76, – 1.22, respectively).Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that problematic Whatsapp use is an important internet-related behavioral problem and have specific risk factors among adolescents. Adolescents use Whatsapp generally with their real friends/relatives. Adolescents who have depression, obsession-compulsion mostly have social withdrawal, and would not be interested in communicating their real social environment. On the other hand, adolescents who have phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism and somatization symptoms would follow the changes and events more closely. The associations between different psychiatric symptoms and PWU could guide the practitioners in the psychiatric care of adolescents

Antecedents and consequences of problematic smartphone use: A systematic literature review of an emerging research area

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Magic mirror on the wall: Selfie-related behavior as mediator of the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use

Objective: Recent research has suggested that problematic smartphone use is associated with several psychological factors and that mobile apps and smartphone-related behavior (i.e. selfi e behavior) may encourage the development of problematic smartphone use. However, little is known about how the interplay between dysfunctional personality characteristics and selfi e-related behavior can infl uence problematic smartphone use. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use, as well as the mediating role of selfi e-related behavior in this relationship among young men and women. Method: In the current study, a total of 627 undergraduate students (283 males and 344 females) completed a cross-sectional survey. A structural equation model was tested separately for males and females in order to evaluate the associations between narcissism, selfi e-related behavior and problematic smartphone use. Results: The results showed that greater narcissism was related to increased selfi e-related behavior, which in turn were positively associated with problematic smartphone use both for males and females. However, selfi e-related behavior mediated the relationship between narcissism and problematic smartphone use only for females. Conclusions: The study provides fresh insight into our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying problematic smartphone use, which may inform prevention and treatment interventions

Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students

Background and aims The usage of smartphones has increased rapidly in recent years, and this has brought about addiction. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between smartphone use severity and sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Methods In total, 319 university students (203 females and 116 males; mean age = 20.5 ± 2.45) were included in the study. Participants were divided into the following three groups: a smartphone non-user group (n = 71, 22.3%), a low smartphone use group (n = 121, 37.9%), and a high smartphone use group (n = 127, 39.8%). All participants were evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory; moreover, participants other than those in the smartphone non-user group were also assessed with the Smartphone Addiction Scale. Results The findings revealed that the Smartphone Addiction Scale scores of females were significantly higher than those of males. Depression, anxiety, and daytime dysfunction scores were higher in the high smartphone use group than in the low smartphone use group. Positive correlations were found between the Smartphone Addiction Scale scores and depression levels, anxiety levels, and some sleep quality scores. Conclusions The results indicate that depression, anxiety, and sleep quality may be associated with smartphone overuse. Such overuse may lead to depression and/or anxiety, which can in turn result in sleep problems. University students with high depression and anxiety scores should be carefully monitored for smartphone addiction

The long-term impact of COVID-19 on student mental health

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions placed upon society have had a profound impact on both physical and mental health, particularly for young people. The current study assesses student mental health pre, within and post COVID. Method: Eight hundred and fourteen first year undergraduate students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires to assess for depression, mobile phone use, self-esteem, resilience and social support with data being collected over a three-year period. The data from each year was compared (216, 218 and 380 students respectively). Findings: Statistical analysis revealed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on self-reported levels of depression, smartphone use, self-esteem, resilience and social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed that smart phone use and resilience were significant predictors of levels of depression. Discussion and Conclusion: Overall, we found far higher-than-expected mental health problems within the student cohort. These findings are discussed in relation to potential interventions. The findings suggest that COVID-19 has had a major impact upon student mental health, and that we have not yet seen a recovery within our new ‘post-COVID’ times. Take home message: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-term impact not only on student mental health and self-esteem, but importantly on levels of student resilience, making them vulnerable to the impact of any further stress invoking events.</p

Problematic Internet Use among Adolescents 18 Months after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Studies in recent years and especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown a significant increase in the problematic use of computer games and social media. Adolescents having difficulties in regulating their unpleasant emotions are especially prone to Problematic Internet Use (PIU), which is why emotion dysregulation has been considered a risk factor for PIU. The aim of the present study was to assess problematic internet use (PIU) in adolescents after the third wave (nearly 1.5 years after the onset in Europe) of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the German region of Siegen-Wittgenstein, all students 12 years and older from secondary-level schools, vocational schools and universities were offered a prioritized vaccination in August 2021 with an approved vaccine against COVID-19. In this context, the participants filled out the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (SCIUS) and two additional items to capture a possible change in digital media usage time and regulation of negative affect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of PIU. The original sample consisted of 1477 participants, and after excluding invalid cases the final sample size amounted to 1268 adolescents aged 12–17 (x = 14.37 years, SD = 1.64). The average prevalence of PIU was 43.69%. Gender, age, digital media usage time and the intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were all found to be significant predictors of PIU: female gender, increasing age, longer digital media usage time and higher intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with higher SCIUS total scores. This study found a very high prevalence of PIU among 12- to 17-year-olds for the period after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic prevalence rates. PIU is emerging as a serious problem among young people in the pandemic. Besides gender and age, pandemic-associated time of digital media use and emotion regulation have an impact on PIU, which provides starting points for preventive interventions

Typical Phone Use Habits: Intense Use Does Not Predict Negative Well-Being

Not all smartphone owners use their device in the same way. In this work, we uncover broad, latent patterns of mobile phone use behavior. We conducted a study where, via a dedicated logging app, we collected daily mobile phone activity data from a sample of 340 participants for a period of four weeks. Through an unsupervised learning approach and a methodologically rigorous analysis, we reveal five generic phone use profiles which describe at least 10% of the participants each: limited use, business use, power use, and personality- & externally induced problematic use. We provide evidence that intense mobile phone use alone does not predict negative well-being. Instead, our approach automatically revealed two groups with tendencies for lower well-being, which are characterized by nightly phone use sessions.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, conference pape

Unhappy and addicted to your phone?

With mobile phones becoming central parts of our lives, mobile technology gets criticized for its negative impact on people's well-being. Studies generally report negative associations between mobile phone use (MPU) and well-being. However, few studies contrast the relationship of MPU with different concepts of positive psychology. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between MPU and different concepts of positive psychology: life satisfaction, well-being, and mindfulness. Data from 461 German speaking participants answering an online-questionnaire were analyzed. Overall, results suggest that participants who use their mobile phones more often report lower well-being, life satisfaction, and mindfulness scores. Furthermore, results imply that the relationships between positive psychology concepts and MPU differ between men and women. Results indicate that MPU and its associations with concepts of positive psychology are relevant areas for research and deserve more attention