Association between psychological and self-assessed health status and smartphone overuse among Korean college students
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Published on: February 3, 2022
Hyun-Jin Kim1, Jin-Young Min1, Hye-Jin Kim2
1a Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University , Seoul , Republic of Korea and.
Background:
Several studies suggest that subjective health status is closely related to various behavioral addictions, but there are few studies on smartphone overuse.
Aim:
This study investigated the associations between psychological and subjective health conditions and smartphone overuse in Korean college students.
Method:
A total of 608 college students participated in this study. We investigated the perceived psychological factors, such as stress, depression symptoms and suicidal ideation. Overall health status was evaluated with self-assessed items, including usual health condition and EuroQol-visual analog scales (EQ-VAS) score. Smartphone overuse was evaluated as the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale.
Results:
Students with psychotic anxiety (i.e. stress, depression and suicidal ideation) showed significant associations with smartphone overuse, indicating an approximately twofold increased risk compared to those without psychological anxiety (all p < 0.05). Students who reported feeling that their usual health is not good were more likely to overuse smartphones than those who are in good health (OR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.22-3.21). The EQ-VAS score, which indicates current self-assessed health status, also showed a similar result with general health status (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.14-4.02).
Conclusion:
Negative conditions in self-perceived emotional or overall health condition are associated with the increased likelihood of smartphone overuse in Korean college students.
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