Association Between Mobile Phone Overuse And Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adolescents And Young Adults

Abstract

Background: Clinically it has been seen that after the pandemic all adolescents developed few features like change in sleep cycle, decreased concentration, decreased academic function, irritability, lack of social activities due to increased involvement of different devices as a result a number of adolescents and young adult developed anxiety, depression lack of coping ability leading to stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between mobile phone overuse and psychiatric morbidity among adolescents and young adults. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Department of Psychiatry, Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), formerly Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh, from March 2023 to March 2024, from outpatient department (OPD) and a private consultation chamber. The study included 120 adolescents and young adults aged between 14 to 20 years. Result: The mean age of participants was 17.4 ± 3.1 years, with females slightly outnumbering males (52.5% vs. 47.5%). The average daily mobile phone usage was 6.7 ± 2.4 hours. PHQ-9 scores indicated mild depression in 40% and moderate in 32.5%. DASS-21 scores revealed mild to moderate psychological distress in over half of the sample, and severe distress in 24.2%. Depression severity significantly varied with age (p = 0.042), being higher among older participants. Similarly, psychological distress also increased with age (p = 0.034). No statistically significant gender differences were observed in either scale. Conclusion: High mobile phone usage is associated with significant levels of depression and psychological distress, particularly among older adolescents.