The Relationship Between Smartphone Addiction and Mental Health Among Teenagers

Abstract

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This study investigates the relationship between smartphone addiction and mental health outcomes among teenagers aged 13 to 19 years. With the exponential growth in smartphone ownership among adolescents, concerns have escalated regarding the psychological consequences of excessive and compulsive smartphone use during a critical developmental period. This research employs a quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design to examine the associations between smartphone addiction and four mental health indicators: anxiety, depression, stress, and self-esteem. A structured questionnaire comprising the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) developed by Kwon et al. (2013), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) by Rosenberg (1965) was administered to 100 teenagers selected through stratified random sampling from four secondary schools. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal statistically significant positive correlations between smartphone addiction scores and anxiety (r = 0.53, p < 0.01), depression (r = 0.49, p < 0.01), and stress (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), and a significant negative correlation with self-esteem (r = -0.41, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis indicates that smartphone addiction, combined with daily screen time and nighttime phone use, explains approximately 39% of the variance in overall mental health distress scores. The study concludes that smartphone addiction is significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes among teenagers and recommends targeted digital wellness interventions for adolescents, parents, and educational institutions.