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COVID-19 pandemic and its related containment measures have been associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression in the general population. While the use of digital media has been greatly promoted by national governments and international authorities to maintain social contacts and healthy lifestyle behaviors, its increased access may also bear the risk of inappropriate or excessive use of internet-related resources. The present study, part of the COVID Mental hEalth Trial (COMET) study, aims at investigating the possible relationship between social isolation, the use of digital resources and the development of their problematic use. A cross sectional survey was carried out to explore the prevalence of internet addiction, excessive use of social media, problematic video gaming and binge watching, during Italian phase II (May–June 2020) and III (June–September 2020) of the pandemic in 1385 individuals (62.5% female, mean age 32.5 ± 12.9) mainly living in Central Italy (52.4%). Data were stratified according to phase II/III and three groups of Italian regions (northern, central and southern). Compared to the larger COMET study, most participants exhibited significant higher levels of severe-to-extremely-severe depressive symptoms (46.3% vs. 12.4%; p < 0.01) and extremely severe anxiety symptoms (77.8% vs. 7.5%; p < 0.01). We also observed a rise in problematic internet use and excessive gaming over time. Mediation analyses revealed that COVID-19-related general psychopathology, stress, anxiety, depression and social isolation play a significant role in the emergence of problematic internet use, social media addiction and problematic video gaming. Professional gamers and younger subjects emerged as sub-populations particularly at risk of developing digital addictions. If confirmed in larger and more homogenous samples, our findings may help in shedding light on possible preventive and treatment strategies for digital addictions.

Smartphone use has increased globally and has become essential in daily life. Although benefits exist, concerns arise about the negative effects of prolonged hyperconnectivity. The excessive use of smartphones combined with demographic and mental health related risk factors can lead to problematic smartphone use (PSU). PSU is characterized as the compulsive use of smartphones that disrupts an individual's daily life, work, and relationships. Considering this scenario, the present paper proposes OntoKratos as an ontology designed to detect and prevent PSU. The ontology enables inferences, such as determining the individual's mental health and PSU state, inferring context information, identifying PSU demographic and emotional risk factors, and suggesting interventions. OntoKratos includes 89 classes, 43 object properties, 35 data properties, and 1,113 axioms. Evaluations performed through a simulated dataset demonstrated the ontology's effectiveness regarding PSU identification and interventions for PSU behaviors. Ontology's rules allowed the definition of accurate axioms, improving the correct classification and inference of eight instantiated individuals. This study presents the first ontology for PSU identification and intervention suggestions on PSU behaviors. OntoKratos allows to identify and assist individuals by considering mental health and PSU status, inferring potential PSU risk factors, and providing tailored intervention suggestions to cope with PSU.

Background Smartphones are becoming a daily necessity for most undergraduates in Mainland China. Because the present scenario of problematic smartphone use (PSU) is largely unexplored, in the current study we aimed to estimate the prevalence of PSU and to screen suitable predictors for PSU among Chinese undergraduates in the framework of the stress-coping theory. Methods A sample of 1062 undergraduate smartphone users was recruited by means of the stratified cluster random sampling strategy between April and May 2015. The Problematic Cellular Phone Use Questionnaire was used to identify PSU. We evaluated five candidate risk factors for PSU by using logistic regression analysis while controlling for demographic characteristics and specific features of smartphone use. Results The prevalence of PSU among Chinese undergraduates was estimated to be 21.3%. The risk factors for PSU were majoring in the humanities, high monthly income from the family (≥1500 RMB), serious emotional symptoms, high perceived stress, and perfectionism-related factors (high doubts about actions, high parental expectations). Conclusions PSU among undergraduates appears to be ubiquitous and thus constitutes a public health issue in Mainland China. Although further longitudinal studies are required to test whether PSU is a transient phenomenon or a chronic and progressive condition, our study successfully identified socio-demographic and psychological risk factors for PSU. These results, obtained from a random and thus representative sample of undergraduates, opens up new avenues in terms of prevention and regulation policies.

Previous research has shown that problematic smartphone use (PSU) is related to several affect-related psychopathology variables. Emotion dysregulation has been regarded as a central psychological factor associated with that type of psychopathology. In this paper, the association between expressive emotional suppression, a form of emotion dysregulation, with PSU was investigated. Furthermore, we tested if types of smartphone use (process and social use) mediated that association. Three hundred American college students participated in a web-based survey that included the Smartphone Addiction Scale (for problematic smartphone use), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (assessing suppression), and Process vs. Social Smartphone Usage scale. We found that expressive suppression was correlated with both process smartphone use and PSU severity. Mediation analysis showed that process smartphone use completely mediated relations between suppression and PSU severity. The findings suggest that dysfunctional emotion regulation could lead to more process smartphone use that, in turn, may manifest in PSU severity. Contributions and limitations of the study are discussed.

Background Smartphones are becoming increasingly indispensable in everyday life for most undergraduates in China, and this has been associated with problematic use or addiction. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of smartphone addiction and the associated factors in male and female undergraduates. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 and included 1441 undergraduate students at Wannan Medical College, China. The Smartphone Addiction Scale short version (SAS-SV) was used to assess smartphone addiction among the students, using accepted cut-offs. Participants’ demographic, smartphone usage, and psycho-behavioral data were collected. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to seek associations between smartphone addiction and independent variables among the males and females, separately. Results The prevalence of smartphone addiction among participants was 29.8% (30.3% in males and 29.3% in females). Factors associated with smartphone addiction in male students were use of game apps, anxiety, and poor sleep quality. Significant factors for female undergraduates were use of multimedia applications, use of social networking services, depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality. Conclusions Smartphone addiction was common among the medical college students investigated. This study identified associations between smartphone usage, psycho-behavioral factors, and smartphone addiction, and the associations differed between males and females. These results suggest the need for interventions to reduce smartphone addiction among undergraduate students.

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.

Due to the high accessibility and mobility of smartphones, widespread and pervasive smartphone use has become the social norm, exposing users to various health and other risk factors. There is, however, a debate on whether addiction to smartphone use is a valid behavioral addiction that is distinct from similar conditions, such as Internet and gaming addiction. The goal of this review is to gather and integrate up-to-date research on measures of smartphone addiction (SA) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) to better understand (a) if they are distinct from other addictions that merely use the smartphone as a medium, and (b) how the disorder(s) may fall on a continuum of addictive behaviors that at some point could be considered an addiction. A systematic literature search adapted from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method was conducted to find all relevant articles on SA and PSU published between 2017 and 2019. A total of 108 articles were included in the current review. Most studies neither distinguished SA from other technological addictions nor clarified whether SA was an addiction to the actual smartphone device or to the features that the device offers. Most studies also did not directly base their research on a theory to explain the etiologic origins or causal pathways of SA and its associations. Suggestions are made regarding how to address SA as an emerging behavioral addiction.

The aim of the study was to investigate the mediating role of the fear of missing out (FoMO) and of smartphone use patterns (SUP) on self-control and problematic smartphone use (PSU) among Italian university students. This study involved 405 students (mean age 22.11 years). The data were collected by using a paper-pencil method. The hypotheses of the study were tested by using the Person correlation analysis and a structural equation model (SEM). The results of the study showed that females exhibited higher scores in PSU, self-control, and socializing patterns in smartphone use, whereas males scored higher in information-seeking and entertainment. No significant differences emerged between gender and FoMO. We found a partial mediation only by FoMO on the relationship between self-control and PSU and none by SUP. A significant indirect effect, however, emerged when SUP was related to FoMO. The current findings not only confirm the previous results but also provide new evidence regarding the association between self-control and PSU.

Backgrounds The Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) is a validated 6-item measurement tool for assessing problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, the absence of established cutoff points for SABAS hinders its utilities. This study aimed to determine the optimal cutoff point for SABAS through latent profile analysis (LPA) and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses among 63, 205. Chinese adolescents. Additionally, the study explored whether PSU screening with SABAS could effectively capture problematic social media use (PSMU) and internet gaming disorder (IGD). Method We recruited 63,205. adolescents using cluster sampling. Validated questionnaires were used to assess PSMU, IGD, and mental health (depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, well-being, resilience, and externalizing and internalizing problems). Results LPA identified a 3-class model for PSU, including low-risk users (38.6%, n  = 24,388.), middle-risk users (42.5%, n  = 26,885.), and high-risk users (18.9%, n  = 11,932.). High-risk users were regarded as “PSU cases” in ROC analysis, which demonstrated an optimal cut-off point of 23 (sensitivity: 98.1%, specificity: 96.8%). According to the cutoff point, 21.1% ( n  = 13,317.) were identified as PSU. PSU adolescents displayed higher PSMU, IGD, and worse mental health. PSU screening effectively captured IGD (sensitivity: 86.8%, specificity: 84.5%) and PSMU (sensitivity: 84.5%, specificity: 80.2%). Conclusion A potential ideal threshold for utilizing SABAS to identify PSU could be 23 (out of 36). Employing SABAS as a screening tool for PSU holds the potential to reliably pinpoint both IGD and PSMU.

Previous studies suggested social anxiety as an essential risk factor for problematic smartphone use, but the complex interactions and the most influential components affecting this relationship remain unclear. This study capitalizes on network analysis to identify the central factors and possible mediating paths among social anxiety, loneliness, five types of motivation, and problematic smartphone use. Employing 549 emerging adults, we obtained a stable network of the above variables. The central components and the stability of this network were also identified. Within this network, the edge linking withdrawal behavior and use of application (APP) exhibits the most robust edge intensity. The central components include social comfort, use of APP, withdrawal behavior, and companionship while the bridge central nodes include social anxiety and escapism motivation. The direct link between social anxiety and PSU revealed only fragile edges with both withdrawal behavior and use of APP. Considering the possible mediating pathways, three pathways were observed in our network. Loneliness and escapism mediated the relationship between social anxiety and social comfort. Moreover, another mediating way was from social anxiety, loneliness, social interaction motivation, and escapism motivation to social comfort. Based on the above identification of related components and pathways, future researchers could intervene against problematic smartphone usage in this socially anxious population. •We capitalized on network analysis to examine social anxiety, loneliness, motivations, and problematic smartphone use•Formulated the importance of loneliness and diverse motivations in affecting PSU for these socially anxious individuals•Provided the skills or intervene in coping strategies that guide these emerging adults to cope with life problems