Effects of Internet and Smartphone Addictions on Depression and Anxiety Based on Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

Yeon-Jin Kim,Dai-Jin Kim,Youngjo Lee,Hye Jang,Donghwan Lee

doi:10.3390/ijerph15050859

Abstract

The associations of Internet addiction (IA) and smartphone addiction (SA) with mental health problems have been widely studied. We investigated the effects of IA and SA on depression and anxiety while adjusting for sociodemographic variables. In this study, 4854 participants completed a cross-sectional web-based survey including socio-demographic items, the Korean Scale for Internet Addiction, the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale, and the subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 Items-Revised. The participants were classified into IA, SA, and normal use (NU) groups. To reduce sampling bias, we applied the propensity score matching method based on genetics matching. The IA group showed an increased risk of depression (relative risk 1.207; p < 0.001) and anxiety (relative risk 1.264; p < 0.001) compared to NUs. The SA group also showed an increased risk of depression (relative risk 1.337; p < 0.001) and anxiety (relative risk 1.402; p < 0.001) compared to NCs. These findings show that both, IA and SA, exerted significant effects on depression and anxiety. Moreover, our findings showed that SA has a stronger relationship with depression and anxiety, stronger than IA, and emphasized the need for prevention and management policy of the excessive smartphone use.

Highlights

With the increasing use and convenience of the Internet and smartphones in daily life, the accumulated research has shown the negative effects of the excessive Internet and smartphone use in the realm of mental health [1].The smartphone user rate in South Korean population is approximately 85%, the highest worldwide [2]
The primary aim of this study is to examine the interrelationships between Internet addictions (IA), Smartphone addiction (SA), and mood status, that is depression and anxiety, using propensity score matching analysis
We investigated how IA and SA influence mental health problems, depression and anxiety

Summary

Introduction

With the increasing use and convenience of the Internet and smartphones in daily life, the accumulated research has shown the negative effects of the excessive Internet and smartphone use in the realm of mental health [1].The smartphone user rate in South Korean population is approximately 85%, the highest worldwide [2]. With the increasing use and convenience of the Internet and smartphones in daily life, the accumulated research has shown the negative effects of the excessive Internet and smartphone use in the realm of mental health [1]. The excessive smartphone use is strongly associated with a number of mental health issues, including stress and an increased risk of abnormal anxiety [3,4]. Smartphone addiction (SA) has emerged as a new form of addiction along with Internet addictions (IA), and the clinical characteristic of the SA have received attention in recent years [5]. There are some differences regarding the nature of the devices, such as the easy portability, real-time Internet access and direct communication features of smartphones [6]. Similarities and differences between IA and SA have been reported with respect to demographic variables and the motivational aspects of media use [1,6]

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion