Smartphone addiction and its association with common mental disorders among students attending the university of Dschang, West region, Cameroon

Background: Smartphones are an integral part of modern communication but addiction to these devices could predispose to common mental disorders. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of smartphone addiction and common mental disorders as well as the association between smartphone addiction and these mental disorders in Dschang university students who use smartphones. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Randomly selected students completed a survey comprising Patient Health Questionnaires seven and nine (PHQ-9 and PHQ-7) to screen for depression and anxiety respectively, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) to grade smartphone use. The association between smartphone use and common mental disorders was assessed using logistic regression modelling. Results: We recruited 634 participants. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 20.98% [C.I:17.99%-24.32%]. The prevalence of depression and anxiety were 34.86% [95% CI: 31.25-38.65] and 19.27% [95% CI: 16.81-22.99] respectively. The odds of depression in students with addiction was 5 times the odds of depression in students without addiction [OR: 4.96, 95% CI: 3.30-7.45, p<0.001]. The odds of anxiety in students with addiction was 2 times the odds of anxiety in students without addiction [OR: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.58-3.77, p<0.001]. After adjusting for age, sex, faculty, cycle of study, marital status, religion, chronic diseases, sexual abuse and suicidal ideation, there remained a statistically-significant association between smartphone addiction and both depression [OR: 4.46, 95%CI; 2.92-6.84, p<0.001] and anxiety [OR: 2.08, 95% CI; 1.31-3.30, p=0.002]. Conclusion: In this setting, it is crucial to foster strategies of prevention and promotion in mental health especially among problematic smartphone users.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

No funding was obtained for the conduct or publication of this study

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