The relationship between smartphone addiction and depression among university students in Karachi: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Pakistan demographic and health survey (PDHS) estimated extensive ownership of cell phones in Pakistan with 94.7% in the urban population. Pakistan Advertiser Company reported 77 % of cell phone users aged between 21-30 years. Although, no research was conducted with university population for addiction and depression, so this study aims to find the link between Smartphone addiction and depression in SZABIST University students of Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted with self-assessment tools, comprised of three sections: socio-demographic information, smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV) and Beck’s depression inventory-II (BDI-II). Responses for SAS-SV were rated on a 6-point Likert scale and BDI-II was summated on range 0-60. Percentages mean score was commuted for SAS-SV; the mean score was computed and categorized for BDI-II. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used for data analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.01.Results: Total participants were N=225, of which 140 (62.2%) were males and 85 (35.8%) were females. The mean±SD of their ages were 20.9±2.9. Age was found insignificant with depression after applying multiple linear regressions. Mean score of SAS-SV was 54.8±17.2, and BDI-II was13.4±9.6, which showed a significant positive association (OR, 0.241; 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.3; p<0.001). Prior adjusting coefficient, males were speculated having a higher level of depression.Conclusions: A significant positive correlation was found between Smartphone addiction and depression, among University Students of SZABIST. Control smartphones usage is advised for undergraduate students as they are more prone to depression compared to postgraduate students.

Cumulative risk factors, Problematic smartphone use and Depressive symptoms in Nursing Students：a cross-sectional study

“…Our data are consistent with ndings from other areas of research that the accumulation of risk factors, rather than the role of speci c factors, contributes to morbidity in several areas [20,36]. In previous studies, many scholars have identi ed mobile phone addiction as a signi cant risk factor for depression among university students [13][14][15]. We therefore sought to identify the predictive value of individual, family and social risk measures for depressive symptoms in university students in addition to PSU.…”

“…The summing scores of depression was categorized into the 5 severity levels, i.e. normal (0-9), mild (10)(11)(12)(13), moderate (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), severe (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and extremely severe (28+) [28]. The instrument is frequently used for assessing medical students [29] and Cronbach's alpha of the Chinese version is 0.83 for the depression subscale [30].…”

“…The advent of the digital age has made the association between smartphone use and depressive symptoms among emerging adults a hot topic of research in recent years [10][11][12]. It is di cult to avoid the conclusion from prior research that a positive association between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and depressive symptoms among college students exists [13][14][15]. PSU, also known as smartphone dependence or smartphone addiction, refers to the use of smartphones as a vehicle for individuals to become excessively addicted to certain activities.…”

The Relationship between Smartphone Addiction and Depression among Health Sciences Students in The National University of Malaysia

“…The similar trend also observed in South Korea as anxiety and depression was seen more in people who overused smartphones (Hwang et al 2012). A study in Pakistan reported that there is a correlation between smartphone addiction & depression (Abid et al 2020). Association of depression and problematic mobile usage were noticed in a young population group in Austria (Augner & Hacker 2011).…”

Usage of Smartphone by High School Students: A Study on Jhikargacha Sub-District of Bangladesh

“…To do so, researchers employed the five symptoms of the smartphone addiction scale: disregard for negative consequences, preoccupation, inability to regulate, loss of productivity, and emotions of dread and loss. In another study, Abid et al (2020) found that there is a remarkable influence of psychological control on mobile phone dependency, self-regulated learning, and school adjustment. However, mobile phone dependency plays a vital role as a mediator in this regard.…”