Reciprocal longitudinal relationships between mobile phone addiction & depressive symptoms among adolescents
Sangmin Jun. The reciprocal longitudinal relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior. 58:179-186. May 2016.
Highlights
• Mobile phone addiction increased consistently over time.
• Depressive symptoms increased consistently over time.
• Mobile phone addiction affected depressive symptoms over time.
• Depressive symptoms influenced mobile phone addiction over time.
Abstract
This study aimed to (a) explore the stability of changes in mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms across time and (b) clarify the direction of reciprocal longitudinal relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents.
We analyzed three-year longitudinal data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea. A total of 1877 valid responses from 2011 to 2013 were analyzed using autoregressive cross-lagged modeling.
We found that each mobile phone addiction and depressive symptom in earlier years was associated with increasing severity in these conditions consistently over the three years. In addition, we found that the relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms were bidirectional over the three years.
The significant implications for these findings in the context of adolescent behavior are also discussed.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215303320
Excerpts
Mobile phone addiction has increased among Korean adolescents. According to national surveys, 29.2% of teenagers were potential addictive users of mobile phones compared to that of individuals in their twenties (19.6%) and thirties (11.3%) (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea, 2015). Mobile phone addiction, a behavioral addiction analogous to gambling and Internet addiction, can be defined as the excessive and uncontrolled use of mobile phones (Billieux, 2012, Chóliz, 2010 and Jun and Choi, 2015).
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea (2015) described the main factors in adolescent mobile phone addiction as tolerance, cognitive or behavioral disorders that interrupt daily lives, and withdrawal. Further, mobile phone addiction leads to serious health problems such as stress, sleep disturbances, headache, and brain tumor (Hardell and Carlberg, 2009 and Zhao et al., 2007). Adolescents are especially vulnerable to mobile phone addiction because of their level of cortical development (Gogtay et al., 2004), their greater interest in mobile technology, and their superior skills in using mobile phones compared to adults (Chóliz, 2010 and Chóliz, 2012). The mobile phone addiction problem is by no means confined to Korean adolescents. The prevalence of mobile phone addicted teenagers in European countries—such as Switzerland, Spain, and the UK—has been estimated at 10–30% (Billieux et al., 2007, Lopez-Fernandez and Freixa-Blanxart, 2014 and Sánchez-Martínez and Otero, 2009). Chen (2004) indicated that 25% of American college students recognized they were addicted to mobile phones. In addition, 21.4% of Iranian youth and 27.4% of adolescents in Hong Kong have been classified as mobile phone addicts (Babadi-Akashe et al., 2014 and Leung, 2008).
Mobile phone addiction in one year was a significant predictor of mobile phone addiction in the subsequent year. Likewise, depressive symptoms at a previous time predicted depressive symptoms at a later time .... By testing autoregressive effects using longitudinal data, we found that mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents at an earlier time were important predictors for the same conditions at a later time. This indicates that if mobile phone addiction or depressive symptoms occur in early adolescence, these states are maintained consistently in late adolescence.
... our results show that mobile phone addiction does not relieve depressive symptoms; rather, it might worsen them. According to our results, mobile phone addiction, a growing problem in adolescents' daily lives, might be compounded by symptoms of depression—which is the most serious psychological problem among adolescents—and vice versa. Mobile phone addiction is a health risk. A few studies have indicated that mobile phone addiction might cause a variety of brain tumors such as glioma and acoustic neuroma (Hardell et al., 2013 and Khurana et al., 2009). The risk of serious brain pathology is higher in adolescents because their brains, with thinner skull bones and higher brain tissue conductivity, are more sensitive to toxins and absorb higher levels of radiation from mobile phones than do adults (Hardell and Carlberg, 2009 and Hardell et al., 2012). Further, mobile phone addiction may lead to difficulties relaxing, headaches, tension, stress, and sleep disturbances (Bianchi and Phillips, 2005, Thomée et al., 2011 and Zhao et al., 2007).
... In this pioneer study, we have demonstrated the bidirectional relations between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms across time. Additionally, this study found that both mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms worsened consistently over time. Therefore, early and continuous treatment and education should be provided for adolescents to prevent mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms. Adolescents themselves should also be aware of the risk of falling into a vicious cycle of mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms.
--
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
Electromagnetic Radiation Safety
Website: http://www.saferemr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
News Releases: http://pressroom.prlog.org/jmm716/
Twitter: @berkeleyprc
Sangmin Jun. The reciprocal longitudinal relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior. 58:179-186. May 2016.
Highlights
• Mobile phone addiction increased consistently over time.
• Depressive symptoms increased consistently over time.
• Mobile phone addiction affected depressive symptoms over time.
• Depressive symptoms influenced mobile phone addiction over time.
Abstract
This study aimed to (a) explore the stability of changes in mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms across time and (b) clarify the direction of reciprocal longitudinal relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents.
We analyzed three-year longitudinal data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea. A total of 1877 valid responses from 2011 to 2013 were analyzed using autoregressive cross-lagged modeling.
We found that each mobile phone addiction and depressive symptom in earlier years was associated with increasing severity in these conditions consistently over the three years. In addition, we found that the relationships between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms were bidirectional over the three years.
The significant implications for these findings in the context of adolescent behavior are also discussed.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215303320
Excerpts
Mobile phone addiction has increased among Korean adolescents. According to national surveys, 29.2% of teenagers were potential addictive users of mobile phones compared to that of individuals in their twenties (19.6%) and thirties (11.3%) (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea, 2015). Mobile phone addiction, a behavioral addiction analogous to gambling and Internet addiction, can be defined as the excessive and uncontrolled use of mobile phones (Billieux, 2012, Chóliz, 2010 and Jun and Choi, 2015).
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea (2015) described the main factors in adolescent mobile phone addiction as tolerance, cognitive or behavioral disorders that interrupt daily lives, and withdrawal. Further, mobile phone addiction leads to serious health problems such as stress, sleep disturbances, headache, and brain tumor (Hardell and Carlberg, 2009 and Zhao et al., 2007). Adolescents are especially vulnerable to mobile phone addiction because of their level of cortical development (Gogtay et al., 2004), their greater interest in mobile technology, and their superior skills in using mobile phones compared to adults (Chóliz, 2010 and Chóliz, 2012). The mobile phone addiction problem is by no means confined to Korean adolescents. The prevalence of mobile phone addicted teenagers in European countries—such as Switzerland, Spain, and the UK—has been estimated at 10–30% (Billieux et al., 2007, Lopez-Fernandez and Freixa-Blanxart, 2014 and Sánchez-Martínez and Otero, 2009). Chen (2004) indicated that 25% of American college students recognized they were addicted to mobile phones. In addition, 21.4% of Iranian youth and 27.4% of adolescents in Hong Kong have been classified as mobile phone addicts (Babadi-Akashe et al., 2014 and Leung, 2008).
Mobile phone addiction in one year was a significant predictor of mobile phone addiction in the subsequent year. Likewise, depressive symptoms at a previous time predicted depressive symptoms at a later time .... By testing autoregressive effects using longitudinal data, we found that mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents at an earlier time were important predictors for the same conditions at a later time. This indicates that if mobile phone addiction or depressive symptoms occur in early adolescence, these states are maintained consistently in late adolescence.
... our results show that mobile phone addiction does not relieve depressive symptoms; rather, it might worsen them. According to our results, mobile phone addiction, a growing problem in adolescents' daily lives, might be compounded by symptoms of depression—which is the most serious psychological problem among adolescents—and vice versa. Mobile phone addiction is a health risk. A few studies have indicated that mobile phone addiction might cause a variety of brain tumors such as glioma and acoustic neuroma (Hardell et al., 2013 and Khurana et al., 2009). The risk of serious brain pathology is higher in adolescents because their brains, with thinner skull bones and higher brain tissue conductivity, are more sensitive to toxins and absorb higher levels of radiation from mobile phones than do adults (Hardell and Carlberg, 2009 and Hardell et al., 2012). Further, mobile phone addiction may lead to difficulties relaxing, headaches, tension, stress, and sleep disturbances (Bianchi and Phillips, 2005, Thomée et al., 2011 and Zhao et al., 2007).
... In this pioneer study, we have demonstrated the bidirectional relations between mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms across time. Additionally, this study found that both mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms worsened consistently over time. Therefore, early and continuous treatment and education should be provided for adolescents to prevent mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms. Adolescents themselves should also be aware of the risk of falling into a vicious cycle of mobile phone addiction and depressive symptoms.
--
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
Electromagnetic Radiation Safety
Website: http://www.saferemr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaferEMR
News Releases: http://pressroom.prlog.org/jmm716/
Twitter: @berkeleyprc
