Addiction to smartphones in a sample of adolescents.Preliminary study

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and level of risk of smartphone addiction in a sample of adolescents. Methods: Observational, prospective and cross-sectional study conducted in the city of Ica, Peru. A total of 120 female adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age from a public educational institution participated. General characteristics were collected and the 10-question
Smartphone Addiction Scale was administered. The study variables were described and Chi-square was applied to evaluate differences. Results: Of the participants, 13.9% are addicted to smartphones and 54.1% are at high risk of dependence. They present higher risk of addiction to these devices, those who had COVID-19, do not have a relative deceased by COVID-19, are not afraid of COVID-19, have family conflicts at home, feeling of sadness, anxiety or depression, feelings of shame, suffer or have ever suffered from bullying, do not feel rejected by society, do not prefer to be in mandatory isolation by the pandemic by COVID-19, do not prefer virtual classes and 16 to 17 years old; however, the differences were not significan. Conclusions: The prevalence and risk of smartphone addiction is high; there are general potentially modifiable variables that could decrease the risk of smartphone dependence.