Validity of the Smombie Scale: Sensitivity and specificity in identifying pedestrian risk group.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine the most effective cut-off point for the Smombie Scale and evaluate its ability to screen for pedestrian safety risks among young adults.

METHODS

Data were obtained from an online sample of 396 Korean young adults aged 18-39 years. Latent profile analysis was used to distinguish the risk group as a reference measure for the Smombie Scale. Discriminative power was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the area under the ROC curve. The cut-off points were estimated from the Youden index and the balanced score.

RESULTS

The latent profile analysis showed two different classes: "risk group" of 17.8% and "others." Based on the latent profile analysis, sensitivity, and specificity analysis showed that an adequate cut-off point of 2.78 of five points or higher was associated with a high risk of distracted walking.

CONCLUSION

The Smombie Scale is a good predictor of problematic smartphone use on the road and can be used as a screening tool for assessing risk levels among young adult pedestrians.