Addictive use of smartphone, depression and anxiety among female undergraduates in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

PurposeThis study examined the prevalence and relationship between addictive use of smartphones and symptoms of depression and anxiety among female undergraduates.Design/methodology/approachStandardized scales were used to measure the addictive use of smartphones, depression and anxiety among 398 female students (mean age 21.75 years, SD = 2.67) at two large higher institutions in southwest Nigeria and were opportunely sampled. Two hypotheses were tested using Spearman's rho and Mann–Whitney U tests.FindingsThe results showed that 1.01% of the respondents were probable smartphone addicts and 17.34% were at-risk, while 14.32% and 16.33% manifested symptoms of anxiety and moderate-to-severe depression, respectively. Depression (r = 0.24, p < 0.01) and anxiety (r = 0.21, p < 0.01) have significant relationship with addictive use of smartphone. Addictive/at-risk smartphone users significantly scored higher on symptoms of depression (average rank of 233.40) than normal smartphone users (average rank of 191.88); U = 9387.50; z = −2.81, p < 0.05; Also, addictive/at-risk smartphone users reported significantly higher level of anxiety (average rank of 229.27) than normal smartphone users (average rank of 192.81); U = 9689.00; z = −2.46, p < 0.05.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizing these results to a clinical setting and other at-risk demographic groups might prove difficult due to the respondents' condition of homogeneity.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that relationships exist between the addictive use of smartphones and symptoms of depression and anxiety among undergraduate students in southwest Nigeria. Clinicians should assess smartphone use in the management of depression and anxiety disorders.Social implicationsUniversity administrators should target prevention and intervention strategies that would assist students to be taught positive ways of using their smartphones.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the body of knowledge by revealing relationships between smartphone addiction and mental health in an African sample.

Psychological state and family functioning of University of Ibadan students during the COVID-19 lockdown

“…It is not surprising that more participants in this study experienced depression since the COVID-19 lockdown was something that put emotional strain on many people. Likewise, a somewhat lower prevalence rate of depression -21.6% -was reported by Ayandele et al [36)] in 2019, among undergraduate students in five universities located in the same region where the present study took place.…”

“…While Cao et al [17) collected data in February 2020, before the pandemic reached its peak in most parts of the world, data collection for this study occurred in May 2020, a period during which the cases were increasing exponentially in Nigeria. Some authors, [36], had reported a lower rate of anxiety, 14.8%, before the COVD-19 pandemic, among undergraduate students in five universities in South-western Nigeria. Again, this is not surprising since several studies that took place in Italy, United States, China and Spain, [18–20, 32, 37], have averred that the lockdown/self-quarantine associated with the COVID-19 was putting a lot of psychological strain on college students…”

The prevalence of smartphone addiction and associated factors among Zimbabwean undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study

“…The prevalence of smartphone addiction in our study population was 54.2%: this is signi cantly higher than most global estimates [28,29]. Two similar studies on Nigerian (N=398) and Cameroonian (N=634) university students, using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short version, yielded prevalence rates of 18.4% [20] and 21.0 % [30], respectively. Nevertheless, our results are comparable to ndings from studies on university students from Saud Arabia (N=2367) [29] and Egypt (N=700) [31].…”

“…The sample size was estimated using STATA, based on a prevalence of 18.4% from a Nigeria [20]. Six hundred participants were required at a 95% con dence interval and a 5% margin of error.…”

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Comorbid Depression and Anxiety Among Adults in South-western Nigeria: A Community-Based Study

“…[28] A Nigerian study reported Cronbach's alpha 0.85 as the reliability coefficient for this scale. [29] For this study, comorbid depression and anxiety was determined when respondents scored above the cut-off score for depression (GDS-SF score ≥ 5) and anxiety (GAD ≥5). The respondents were divided into four groups: respondents with no anxiety and depression, respondents with comorbid depression and anxiety, respondents with anxiety only and respondents with depression only.…”