Association between psychological and self-assessed health status and smartphone overuse among Korean college students

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that subjective health status is closely related to various behavioral addictions, but there are few studies on smartphone overuse. AIM: This study investigated the associations between psychological and subjective health conditions and smartphone overuse in Korean college students. METHOD: A total of 608 college students participated in this study. We investigated the perceived psychological factors, such as stress, depression symptoms and suicidal ideation. Overall health status was evaluated with self-assessed items, including usual health condition and EuroQol-visual analog scales (EQ-VAS) score. Smartphone overuse was evaluated as the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale. RESULTS: Students with psychotic anxiety (i.e. stress, depression and suicidal ideation) showed significant associations with smartphone overuse, indicating an approximately twofold increased risk compared to those without psychological anxiety (all p < 0.05). Students who reported feeling that their usual health is not good were more likely to overuse smartphones than those who are in good health (OR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.22-3.21). The EQ-VAS score, which indicates current self-assessed health status, also showed a similar result with general health status (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.14-4.02). CONCLUSION: Negative conditions in self-perceived emotional or overall health condition are associated with the increased likelihood of smartphone overuse in Korean college students.