Association between smartphone overdependence and mental health in South Korean adolescents: a secondary data analysis

PURPOSE: The rising prevalence of smartphone overdependence among adolescents and its detrimental impact on mental health have become a growing concern. This study aimed to investigate the association between smartphone overdependence and the mental health of Korean adolescents. METHODS: Participants were drawn from the 16th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey conducted in 2020. The dependent variable as smartphone overdependence, while the main exposure of interest was mental health, encompassing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), perceived stress, sources of perceived stress, perceived loneliness, and perceived depressive symptoms. The study employed the Rao-Scott chi-square test and multiple logistic regression using IBM SPSS version 26.0. RESULTS: The participants comprised 54,948 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Among them, 25.1% (n=13,775) were categorized as smartphone overdependence group. Specifically, 20.3% of adolescents who reported GAD ≥10 and 22.5% of those who reported experiencing high levels of perceived loneliness were identified as smartphone overdependent. The GAD increased a risk of smartphone overdependence by 2.61 times (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 2.46-2.77). Perceived loneliness was associated with 1.98-fold (95% CI: 1.87-2.09) increased risk of smartphone overdependence. Additionally, conflict with peers was found to increase the risk of smartphone overdependence by 4.63-fold (95% CI: 3.89-5.52), followed by conflict with parents (odds ratio [OR]: 4.52, 95% CI: 3.84-5.31), and family environment (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 3.75-5.46). CONCLUSION: The findings underscore a significant association between smartphone overdependence and mental health in Korean adolescents. Healthcare services to improve their emotional coping and interpersonal skills are necessary.