Research in Community and Public Health Nursing

Original Article

[English] Smartphone dependency latent profile classification and association with emotional and behavioral difficulties among high school students in Korea: Eunjoo Kim, Min Kyung Song; Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2024;35(1):84-98. Published online March 29, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/rcphn.2024.00465

10,212 View
116 Download
1 Citations

Purpose
The pervasive integration of smartphones into adolescents’ daily lives has resulted in a concerning upsurge in smartphone dependency among high school students. Due to the diverse types and severity levels of smartphone dependency, there is a critical need for research to explore its heterogeneity. This study aimed to identify latent profile of smartphone dependency in high school students based on the four subdomains of smartphone dependency: disturbance of adaptive functions, virtual life orientation, withdrawal, and tolerance. In addition, we explored how emotional and behavioral difficulties differ according to the profiles.
Methods
We used data from 2,195 Korean high school students from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to identify smartphone dependency latent profile. Statistical analysis including chi-square test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and ranked Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) confirmed differences in smartphone use characteristics and emotional-behavioral difficulties according to the classified latent profile.
Results
LPA identified four distinct latent profiles of smartphone dependency among high school students; 1) Underdependent type, 2) Moderate type, 3) Habitual user type, and 4) Virtual space dependent type. The results of ranked ANCOVA, controlling for gender, geographical location, economic status, parental smartphone dependency, and relational variables, revealed that habitual user type exhibited significantly higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social withdrawal, and depressive symptoms compared to other types.
Conclusion
The identification of these profiles provides a foundation for developing tailored intervention programs for adolescents with different levels and patterns of smartphone dependency.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Adolescent Smartphone Overdependence in South Korea: A Place-Stratified Evaluation of Conceptually Informed AI/ML Modeling
Andrew H. Kim, Uibin Lee, Yohan Cho, Sangmi Kim, Vatsal Shah
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2025; 22(10): 1515. CrossRef

First
Prev
Page of 1
Next
Last

Search