Relationship Between Smartphone Addiction and Stress and Life Satisfaction in Medical Students

Abstract

Background: Students, as the first adopters of new technologies are more exposed to smartphone addiction than other groups in society, and consequently problems, such as biopsychological and academic conditions. Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and stress and life satisfaction in the medical students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 331 medical students in the intern and trainee of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Guilan province, Iran, in 2020. Web-Based questionnaires were used to collect the necessary data. The personal and social information (age, gender, academic performance; grade point average, the place of residence, marital status, & educational level) and Smartphone addiction scale (SAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al, 1983), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were completed by the study volunteers. The information was entered into SPSS. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, Independent Samples t-test, and multiple linear regression analysis) were used in statistical analysis. Results: The present research results suggested that smartphone addiction was positively correlated with stress (P=0.01, r=0.65) and life satisfaction (P=0.01, r=-0.58). Smartphone addiction scores, stress, and life satisfaction were influenced by demographic variables. The results of multiple analyses indicated that stress (β=0.52) and life satisfaction (β=-0.34), respectively, significantly explained 57% of the variance of smartphone addiction (P<0.001). Conclusion: The increase in smartphone addiction was associated with more perceived stress and lower life satisfaction among medical students. This finding can provide useful insights for policymakers about the psychological effects of smartphone addiction on students.