Kiara Ramon-Lozano

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1302-231

8 March 2024

Social and Psychological Wellness: Factors Influencing Phone Use in College Students

Billions around the world use and have access to smartphones (Kuru and Çelenk 1).

Scholars agree that excessive phone use is prominent among college students and may damage

their health and wellness (Ercengiz, et al., Liu, et al.). However, scholars have not yet agreed

upon whether behaviors associated with unmanageable smartphone use–such as unease without

one’s phone and inability to control usage–should constitute it as a behavioral addiction (Chen, et

al., Abuhamdah and Naser). This paper demonstrates that scholars investigating smartphone use

in college students conduct cross-sectional survey studies, correlate social and emotional

wellness with phone use, and debate when phone overuse demonstrates an addiction.

Experimental Design and Data Collection and Interpretation

Cross-sectional experimental designs and Likert-scale surveys are prominent in studies

investigating university students’ phone use. For instance, Abuhamdah and Naser administered

Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version

(SAS-SV) in their cross-sectional study to determine the number of Jordanian college students

who suffer from poor mental health and phone dependence (2-3). Kuru and Çelenk and

Mohamed, et al. also used the Smartphone Addiction Scale to measure students’ smartphone

attachment in their cross-sectional research, but they observed psychological and social health

factors using Likert-scale questionnaires different from Abuhamdah and Naser (160, 3). Kuru
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and Çelenk quantified participants’ mental rigidity and psychological disorder symptoms through

the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II and Beck’s Depression and Anxiety Inventories,

while Mohamed, et al. administered the Social Phobia Inventory to measure the social anxiety

levels of female, Arabic-speaking college students (160, 3). Unlike the three studies above, Liu,

et al. applied a factorial research design with a control and experimental group rather than

employing a cross-sectional design (5). Nevertheless, the scholars used the Self-Control Scale,

Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale–all of which are

Likert-scales–to evaluate the impact of a short cognitive behavioral therapy session on students’

conscious awareness and phone dependence (Liu, et al. 3-5). Among the three sources that

employed a cross-sectional design, scholars gathered participant data once. Across all four

studies, scholars quantified students’ mental and social health, cognitive abilities, and phone

dependence through Likert-scale questionnaires. Overlap in experimental design and data

collection is apparent between studies examining smartphone dependence.

Even though studies have comparable methodology and data measurements,

interpretations of participants’ self-reported data is dependent on the study’s purpose. Chen, et al.

aimed to determine whether the prominence and severity of smartphone addiction varies between

male and female university students in China (2). Similarly, Abuhamdah and Naser wanted to

discover the pervasiveness of phone use and mental distress (2). Because both studies intend to

report incidence and intensity of smartphone overuse, the scholars formatted their cross-sectional

study results as percentages (Chen, et al. 3, Abuhamdah and Naser 5-7). For instance, Chen, et

al. state that “the prevalence of smartphone addiction was 30.3% in males and 29.3% in females”

according to the SAS-SV (3). In Abuhamdah and Naser’s results section, they note that 56.7% of
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their sample was smartphone dependent, and they present the varying levels of psychological

distress as a pie chart to demonstrate that roughly 75% of Jordanian college students had a

moderate or severe mental disorder according to Kessler’s scale (5-7). Providing concrete data is

suitable for both studies’ objectives, for it clearly demonstrates the occurrence of phone reliance

and mental distress among participants.

Other scholars use data derived from Likert-scale questionnaires to hypothesize phone

use as it relates to psychological and social health. Squires, et al. studied the influence of

psychopathology and emotion management on students’ excessive phone use; thus, their results

primarily consist of causal and statistical analysis statements (1289). Their study revealed

“significant positive associations…between emotion dysregulation and problematic smartphone

use after controlling for psychological distress,” which they tied to their bivariate correlation

analysis, “b=.230, t (192) = 3.30, p = .001” (Squires, et al. 1291). Another study by Yang, et al.

observed how students’ support systems, self-kindness levels, and psychological distress

symptoms affect phone dependence (3-4). Yang, et al. also referred to statistical analysis in their

results section, stating that “perceived social support significantly and negatively predicted

college students’ mobile phone addiction (β = −0.17, t = −5.19, p < 0.001)” (5-6). Although the

methodology of Squires, et al. and Yang, et al. were similar to that of Abuhamdah and Naser and

Chen, et al., the scholars presented participants’ survey responses in a notably distinct manner.

Specifically, scholars who aim to identify the prevalence of phone use in college students present

concrete data, while those who format their results as causal statements create a foundation for

research on the underlying causes of phone dependence.

Correlations between Social and Mental Health and Smartphone Dependence and Overuse
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In studies that suggest relationships between multiple wellness variables and phone use,

scholars agree that poor psychological health predicts phone use. A cross-sectional study by

Ercengiz, et al. found that anxious college students do not cope with stress effectively, which

makes them prone to developing smartphone anxiety (2, 10-11). A study by Kuru and Çelenk

expands upon this notion by stating that mental rigidity explains the positive correlation between

anxiety levels and uncontrollable phone use (161). Other studies take an alternative perspective,

emphasizing how improving psychological health can reduce one’s inclination to use their

phone. For example, Liu, et al.’s study suggests that short CBT encourages students’ conscious

awareness and increases their ability to limit impulsivity, which decreases their inclination to use

their phone (9-10). Despite the differences in variables tested, the consensus is that phone

dependence and overuse increase as mental health declines.

Because of the lack of longitudinal experimental designs when investigating relationships

between psychological and social health and phone dependence, researchers cannot definitively

justify hypothesized relationships between these variables; therefore, scholars use a variety of

theories and models to strengthen the validity of their causality statements. Squires, et al. use

Billieux’s impulse pathway model to explain their primary finding that students who demonstrate

characteristics of depression, stress, and anxiety have a lower ability to regulate emotional

responses, increasing smartphone dependence (1293-4). Billieux’s model–similar to

Compensatory Internet Use Theory–suggests that students use their phones in excess to avoid

confronting negative emotions (1293-4). Comparably, Yang, et al. found that individuals who

lack strong support systems are prone to depression and phone dependence since they attempt to

replace their social and emotional needs with phone use (8). Using compensatory theory and
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general strain theory as support, Yang, et al. concluded that individuals who have an

overwhelming emotional response to weak interpersonal relationships suppress their feelings

with maladaptive behaviors, like excessive smartphone use, rather than effectively cope with

their emotions (8-9). These discussions demonstrate that models and theories are essential to

supporting current research and establishing foundational knowledge for future studies that

intend to confirm inverse correlations between social and mental health and phone use.

Problematic Smartphone Use vs. Phone Addiction

Scholars studying phone use in university students have not concluded to what extent

smartphone overuse should be classified as an addiction; thus, scholars’ word choice is key to

understanding the scope of the term “smartphone addiction.” In their background section,

Squires, et al. explicitly address the ramifications of referring to excessive smartphone use as an

addiction, stating how this can lead to “overpathologizing everyday behaviours and…trivializing

the seriousness of established addictions” (1286). In line with this idea, scholars such as Kuru

and Çelenk and Liu, et al. refrain from using the word “addiction” in their research by referring

to smartphone overuse as “problematic smartphone use” (PSU) throughout their article (160, 2).

However, Liu, et al. initially acknowledge some scholars’ use of the word “addiction” to

emphasize the severity of college students’ smartphone attachment and stress the need for

intervention (2).

Dissimilarly, other scholars claim that incessant phone use should be considered an

addiction when it interferes with one’s lifestyle and well-being. For instance, Mohamed, et al.

establish that smartphone dependence is a “technological addiction” that is characterized by

“compulsive behaviors, tolerance, withdrawal, and functional impairment” (1). Abuhamdah and
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Naser similarly emphasize that phone overuse is “classified clinically as behavioral addiction”

when one cannot limit use despite “adverse repercussions on their day-to-day existence,

interpersonal connections, professional endeavors, or general state of welfare” (1, 2). Some

scholars do not expressly take a stance on this debate. However, they will highlight “phone

addiction” as the focus of their study throughout their article (Chen, et al., Yang, et al.). These

differences in terminology between studies demonstrates to what extent researchers’ opinions

diverge on what constitutes smartphone addiction.

Conclusion

As this paper has shown, researchers evaluating college students’ phone use conduct

cross-sectional survey studies to build upon other scholars’ theories and models and hypothesize

relationships between wellness and phone dependence. Current literature indicates that poor

social and psychological health is correlated with increased phone dependence and smartphone

anxiety. Therefore, scholars’ next steps must involve longitudinal and quasi-experimental studies

that can confirm these relationships to raise awareness on the implications of excessive

smartphone use in college students and propose an effective means of intervention.

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Works Cited

Abuhamdah, Sawsan M. A., and Abdallah Y. Naser. “Smartphone Addiction and Its Mental

Health Risks among University Students in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC

Psychiatry, vol. 23, no. 812, 2023, pp. 1-9, Academic Search Complete,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05322-6.

Chen, Baifeng, et al. “Gender Differences in Factors Associated with Smartphone Addiction: A

Cross-Sectional Study among Medical College Students.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 17, no.

341, 2017, pp. 1-9. Academic Search Complete,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1503-z.

Ercengiz, Mustafa, et al. “Differentiation of Self, Emotion Management Skills, and Nomophobia

among Smartphone Users: the Mediating and Moderating Roles of Intolerance of

Uncertainty.” The Social Science Journal, 2020, pp. 1-15. Taylor & Francis Online,

https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1833148.

Kuru, Tacettin, and Sinem Çelenk. “The Relationship Among Anxiety, Depression, and

Problematic Smartphone Use in University Students: The Mediating Effect of

Psychological Inflexibility.” Alpha Psychiatry, vol. 22, no. 3, 2021, pp 159-164.

Academic Search Complete, https://doi.org/10.5455/apd.136695.

Liu, Fengbo, et al. “Effectiveness of Brief Mindfulness Intervention for College Students’

Problematic Smartphone Use: The Mediating Role of Self-Control.” PLoS ONE, vol. 17,

no. 12, 2022, pp. 1-13. Academic Search Complete,

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279621.
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Mohamed, Zaibab K., et al. “Smartphone Addiction and Its Relation to Social Phobia in Female

University Students.” Middle East Current Psychiatry, vol. 30, no. 74, 2023, pp. 1-10.

Academic Search Complete, https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-023-00327-z.

Squires, Lauren R., et al. “Psychological Distress, Emotion Dysregulation, and Coping

Behaviour: a Theoretical Perspective of Problematic Smartphone Use.” International

Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, vol. 19, no. 4, 2021, pp. 1284-1299. Academic

Search Complete, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00224-0.

Yang, Xiaofan, et al. “Perceived Social Support, Depressive Symptoms, Self-Compassion, and

Mobile Phone Addiction: A Moderated Mediation Analysis.” Behavioral Sciences, vol.

13, no. 9, 2023, pp. 1-13. Academic Search Complete,

https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13090769.