Smartphone Addiction among University Students and Its Relationship with Academic Performance

Abstract

Background and Objective: Smartphone use is almost universally relied on among college students. Whether smartphone addiction among college students has a negative predictive effect on academic performance is hardly studied. Previous research found an apparent association between smartphone use and academic achievement partly explained by the nature of the task the student is engaged in when using a smartphone. This study aims to assess the relationship between smartphone addiction and students' academic performance controlling for important potential confounding variables.Methods: A sample of 688 undergraduate students was randomly selected from Notre Dame University, Lebanon. Students were asked to fill out a questionnaire that included a) questions on variables related to socio-demographics, academics, smartphone use, and lifestyle behaviors; and b) a 26-item Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) Scale. Multiple logistic regression was performed to assess the independent association between smartphone addiction and cumulative grade point average (GPA).Results: 49% reported smartphone use for at least 5 hours during a weekday. Controlling for confounding effects in the model, the association between total SPAI score and GPA did not reach statistical significance, whereas alcohol drinking (OR= 2.10, p=0.026), age at first use of smartphone (OR=1.20, p=0.042), use of smartphone for study-related purposes (OR=0.31, p=0.000), class (OR=0.35 (senior vs. sophomore standing), p=0.024), and faculty (ORs of 0.38 and 0.35 (engineering and humanities, respectively, vs. business students)) were found to be independent predictors of reporting a GPA of < 3. Conclusion:Findings from our study can be used to better inform college administrators and faculty about most-at-risk groups of students who shall be targeted in any intervention designed to enhance low academic performance.

How addicted are newly admitted undergraduate medical students to smartphones?: a cross-sectional study from Chitwan medical college, Nepal

“…Studies have shown the use of smartphone for learning purpose as a protective factor over unproductive use for smartphone addiction [30,31]. In our study only 12/250 (M = 5 and F = 7) participants used smartphone solely for study purpose.…”

Association of excessive smartphone use with psychological well-being among university students in Chiang Mai, Thailand

“…For the sake of simplicity, we have adopted the term “excessive smartphone use” in this manuscript to refer to the complete range of problem smartphone use patterns. Excessive smartphone use is associated with a range of negative social and health outcomes, such as poor academic and work performance [7, 8], reduced in-person social interaction [9, 10], traffic road accidents [11], and mental health problems (depression and anxiety) [5, 12].…”

How addicted are newly admitted Undergraduate Medical Students to Smartphones?: a Cross-sectional Study from Chitwan Medical College, Nepal

“…Studies have shown the use of smartphone for learning purpose as a protective factor over unproductive use for smartphone addiction. [30,31] In our study only 12/250 (M=5 and F=7) participants used smartphone solely for study purpose. This could as well be a reason for higher percentage of smartphone addiction in the current study.…”