ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2019
Problematic smartphone use associated with greater alcohol consumption, mental health issues, poorer academic performance, and impulsivity.
Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Associations of Problematic Smartphone Use and Smartphone Screen Time With Eating Disorder Psychopathology in Non-Clinical Samples: A Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Correlations between mobile phone addiction and anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and poor sleep quality among college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2020Pooled it
- Association between problematic smartphone use, loneliness, and risk behaviors among high school students in a conflict-affected setting: A cross-sectional study from Palestine.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Psychological Factors Applicable to App Development for Overcoming Problematic Smartphone Use: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Article
- Abusive Practices, Self-regulation Strategies, and the Language of Addiction: Narratives Surrounding Problematic Smartphone Use in Southeastern Spanish Youth.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2026Article
- Depressive symptoms precede and drive problematic smartphone use in Chinese medical students: a longitudinal network analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Smartphone use, wellbeing, and their association in children.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Changes in smartphone dependence and depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Problematic smartphone use and risk behaviors in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- The association between problematic smartphone use and subjective well-being in Bangladeshi youths: Mediating role of sleep quality.Addictive behaviors reports · 2025Article
- App-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment of Problematic Smartphone Use During Examination Weeks in University Students: 6-Week Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- The prevalence of smartphone addiction and its related risk factors among Palestinian high school students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- A longitudinal study on the relationships between impulsivity and excessive smartphone use among patients with acquired brain injury and control participants.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Problematic smartphone usage in the Austrian general population: a comparative study of 2022 and 2024, mental health correlates and sociodemographic risk factors.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The mediating effect of attentional impulsivity between mindfulness and problematic smartphone use.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- The Association between Problematic Smartphone Use and Mental Health in Austrian Adolescents and Young Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Maternal Phubbing and Problematic Media Use in Preschoolers: The Independent and Interactive Moderating Role of Children's Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control.Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study sought to examine the occurrence of the problematic use of smartphones in a university sample and associated physical and mental health correlates, including potential relationships with risky sexual practices.
methodsA 156-item anonymous online survey was distributed via e-mail to a sample of 9,449 university students. In addition to problematic smartphone usage, current use of alcohol and drugs, psychological and physical status, and academic performance were assessed.
resultsA total of 31,425 participants were included in the analysis, of whom 20.1% reported problematic smartphone use. Problematic use of smartphones was associated with lower grade point averages and with alcohol use disorder symptoms. It was also significantly associated with impulsivity (Barratt scale and ADHD) and elevated occurrence of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Finally, those with current problems with smartphone use were significantly more sexually active.
conclusionsProblematic use of smartphones is common and has public health importance due to these demonstrable associations with alcohol use, certain mental health diagnoses (especially ADHD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD), and worse scholastic performance. Clinicians should enquire about excessive smartphone use as it may be associated with a range of mental health issues. Research is needed to address longitudinal associations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.