Challenges of Smart Life: The Role of Psychological Well-being and Mental Health in Predicting Cell Phone Addiction of Adolescents

Background and Objectives: During the past decade, a growing number of studies separately and in different populations have examined cell phone addiction. Present study examines the relationship of psychological well-being and mental health in explaining cell phone addiction among adolescent students.

Material and Methods: This was a descriptive-correlational study. The participants of the study were 300 students (162 boys and 138 girls) from secondary schools of Ahvaz who were selected by random multi-stage cluster sampling. In order to collect information, psychological well-being scale, mental health and cell phone addiction questionnaire were used. Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were applied to analyze the data using SPSS software.

Results: The results showed that overall psychological well-being and all its dimensions negatively predict cell phone addiction. In addition, overall mental health and three subscales of anxiety and insomnia, social function, and depression were positive predictors of cell phone addiction. However, the subscale of physical symptoms was not a significant predictor of cell phone addiction.

Conclusion: The above findings show that the utility of technology cannot be challenged, but to prevent addictive use of cell phones, paying more attention to adolescents in lower education courses and using mental health education are essential to promote psychological well-being and mental health and proper and effective use of cell phones among schools.