“A cancer in the minds of youth?” A qualitative study of problematic smartphone use among undergraduate students

There is empirical evidence to suggest that problematic smartphone use (PSU) is associated with mental health problems including anxiety in educational settings. This qualitative study explored attitudes towards - and self-reported impacts of - smartphone use among British young adult students, as well as perceived causes of PSU. Free response written accounts were gathered from 265 British undergraduates at an English university. Open-ended questions were asked about their attitudes towards smartphone use, their reasons for using their smartphones, and what they perceived as the consequences of their smartphone use. Narratives were analyzed using framework analysis and a thematic framework was identified. The three main consequences of PSU described by participants were (1) uncontrolled frequent checking of smartphones, (2) using smartphones late at night, and irrelevant use of smartphones in class. The main reported explanations for PSU were fear of missing messages, boredom in class, poor self-regulation, and external reasons (e.g., boring lectures). Smartphone use was reported to have both positive and negative impacts on young adults’ life satisfaction, social relationships, physical health, and study. Many participants reported that they need to develop better self-regulation to address their PSU. Findings suggest that smartphone use can have benefits as well as potentially causing harm among university students. PSU can - in some cases - be understood as reflecting mental well-being issues, poor self-regulation, and social problems

Living with stroke in Bangladesh: factors influencing quality of life (QoL)

This study examined factors that may predict the QoL of stroke survivors in Bangladesh. The objectives were: to examine the relationship between QoL and health related variables (i.e. disability status, cognitive status, mobility status, self-care, getting along with people, life activities, social participation and psychological state); and also to examine the influence of demographically related variables (i.e. gender, age, level of education, marital status, and living arrangements) on QoL. Data were collected from 110 stroke survivors in Bangladesh. Data collection tools included a semi-structured questionnaire along with WHOQOL-BREF; WHODAS 2.0; and DASS21. A regression analysis was undertaken to determine the significant independent predictors of QoL. Post stroke psychological distress was found to be the key predictor of QoL. Therefore, psychological interventions need to be incorporated in rehabilitation to enhance better QoL post stroke. Other health and demographically related predictor variables had no influence on overall QoL post stroke