Association between psychological and self-assessed health status and smartphone overuse among Korean college students.

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.