The relationship between smartphone addiction and anxiety: a cross-sectional study among Moroccan nursing students

nursing students face serious problems related to smartphone addiction. Anxiety is among the problems associated with this addiction. In Morocco, this relationship still needs to be investigated. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between smartphone addiction and anxiety and analyze the factors related among Moroccan nursing students.

this is a cross-sectional study. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire that included items on socio-demographic characteristics, smartphone use, and lifestyle behaviors. The smartphone addiction scale short version and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were used.

three hundred and thirty-eight (308) students took part in the study. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 41.2%, 42.4% for females, and 39.5% for males without significant association. For anxiety, 34.1% have severe anxiety and 21.1% have moderate anxiety. In the multivariate analysis, anxiety was found to be a factor associated with smartphone addiction (OR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.70; p=0.02). Two other independent factors were also found to be associated with smartphone addiction, which is residence with parents (OR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.78; p=0.05) and smartphone consultation in the morning (OR=0.80; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.96; p=0.02). The participants with high levels of anxiety have the highest smartphone addiction scores with a statistically significant association (p=0.000).

this study showed significant levels of smartphone addiction and anxiety among the participants. A relationship between these two variables has been highlighted. It is essential to educate these young students in terms of the rational use of smartphones to avoid any negative influence on their daily lives.