Analysis of problematic smartphone use across different age groups within the 'components model of addiction'

Csibi, S, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Demetrovics, Z and Szabo, A, 2021. Analysis of problematic smartphone use across different age groups within the 'components model of addiction'. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19 (3), pp. 616-631. ISSN 1557-1874

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Abstract

Smartphones have rapidly become indispensable in modern life. The wide spectrum of activities and virtual interaction possibilities with the mobile device render some individuals prone to exaggerated use exhibiting core symptoms akin to substance addiction. The core common symptoms of addictions can be framed within the 'components model of addiction.' Based on the different pattern of smartphone use in various age groups, the symptoms and the risk of smartphone addiction may differ during various life stages. Some age groups may be more at risk of smartphone addiction than others. This hypothesis was tested utilizing data from six surveys comprising 1603 individuals representing various age groups. Results obtained through two recommended age-group analyses both confirmed that preschool children and young adults are at highest risk for smartphone-related addictive behavior. Furthermore, the various components of addiction also differed between the age groups. These results suggest that preventive measures should be primarily targeted to the two most vulnerable age groups represented by preschool children and emerging adults. The results of the present study help identify the dominant addiction symptoms in the various age groups that could pinpoint aspects which should be targeted in implementation of various measures aimed at the prevention of dysfunctional smartphone use.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Creators:	Csibi, S., Griffiths, M.D., Demetrovics, Z. and Szabo, A.
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date:	June 2021
Volume:	19
Number:	3
ISSN:	1557-1874
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s11469-019-00095-0 DOI 1449860 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	06 Jul 2021 09:57
Last Modified:	06 Jul 2021 09:57
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/43338

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