Smartphone Addiction in Adolescents, part 2: Scoping Review—Prevalence and Associated Factors

Abstract

Recently, the ubiquity of smartphones is arousing society’s interest about the possibility of dependence among adolescents. Therefore, this review aims to trace in the international literature the prevalence and associated factors to smartphone addiction in adolescents. This is the second part of a scoping review carried out in the MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science, LILACS, and PsycINFO databases. A total of 67 articles were analyzed, most of them conducted in South Korea and with a cross-sectional design. The prevalence of smartphone addiction in adolescents ranged from 4.3 to 70% in the countries studied. Several factors were associated with the disorder, such as those related to the use of the device, in addition to socioeconomic, psychological and behavioral, and psychopathological. It is concluded that the prevalence of smartphone addiction may vary, depending on the instrument applied and study location. No studies were found on the American continent that answered the guiding question, and therefore, it is necessary to conduct research in this continent to better understand the phenomenon.