Smartphone Addiction Among Zimbabwean Undergraduate Students: A Prevalence and Cross-Cultural Validation of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

2 Friendship Bench Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

3 Mental Health Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

10.34172/ahj.1677

Abstract

Introduction: Smartphones are an invaluable daily tool, with 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) having mobile access to the internet. However, excessive/problematic use of smartphones is highly prevalent globally. The use of smartphones, particularly among university students, offers many unique opportunities for learning, entrepreneurship, and social interaction. Despite these benefits, “excessive” or “compulsive” use of smartphones has emerged as a growing concern.
Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). We also assessed the prevalence of smartphone addiction and its factors among Zimbabwean university students (N = 380). Data were analysed through factor analyses and binary logistic regression using SPSS and STATA at a 0.05 significance level.
Findings: Participants’ mean age was 21.90 (± 1.90) years, and most participants were female (56.3%). The SAS-SV yielded a two-factor solution, with high reliability (α = 0.84) and sufficient construct validity. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 54.2%. Using social media [OR = 2.7; 95% CI = (1.2–5.9)], using a smartphone for entertainment [OR = 2.2; 95%CI = (1.2–4.0)], experiencing coronavirus-induced anxiety [OR = 2.70; 95% CI = (1.2-5.9)], and encountering an adverse event [OR = 1.8; 95% CI = (1.02 – 3.23)] were associated with an increased risk of smartphone addiction. Conversely, using smartphones for academic work was protective against smartphone addiction [OR = 0.38; 95% CI = (0.19–0.77)].
Conclusion: Our study shows the SAS-SV is a brief and psychometrically robust outcome measure for routine clinical and research usage. Also, there is a high burden of smartphone addiction among university students from low-income countries and the need for bespoke interventions.

Highlights

Sidney Muchemwa(Google Scholar)(Pubmed)

Keywords

References

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Addiction & Health
Volume 18
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