[Validation of Hungarian Smartphone Deprivation Inventory (HSDI) with school children]

The widespread use of smartphones generates new habits and behaviors among the users, including schoolchildren. Advance technology-based applications, capturing interest and attention, influence cognitive focus and time spent with the device. Examination of these factors points toward the risk of addiction, as well as the deprivations sensations associated with the latter, that call for scholastic attention.

The aim of this study was to validate a Hungarian Smartphone Deprivation Inventory (HSDI), to gauge the deprivation feelings and their severity in schoolchildren when they cannot access their device.

A 9-item, 7-point, agree-disagree inventory was developed on the basis of an earlier exercise deprivation scale (Robbins and Joseph, 1985). The inventory was completed by 258 Hungarian schoolchildren (mean age=12.4 ± SD = 1.71 years).

The participants also completed the Hungarian version of the Brief Addiction to Smartphone Scale (BASS). An exploratory factor analysis of the HSDI yielded a single factor that accounted for 55.84 % of the variance. The internal consistency of the inventory was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.90). Content validity of the HSDI was checked by comparing the scores of those scoring above and below the median on the BASS that yielded statistically significant differences (p < .001). The HSDI correlated statistically significantly with the BASS (r = .62, p < .001) as well as with the deprivation subscale of the BASS (r = .63, p < .001), which demonstrated the inventory's congruent validity.

These findings show that the HSDI is a sensitive tool for measuring deprivation feelings related prevented smartphone access in schoolchildren.