Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41768022›Full record

ArticleClinical neuropsychiatry2026

Smartphone And Internet Addiction, Social Support, And Mental Health Among Health Science Students: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Huynh Ngoc Linh, Ngo Thi Tam, Tran Quoc Thang, Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, Nguyen Bich Nguyet, Hoang Duc Hanh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical neuropsychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Huynh Ngoc LinhCa Mau Medical College, Camau, Vietnam, ORCID: 0009-0008-3486-7303.
Ngo Thi TamFaculty of Medicine, Dai Nam University, Hanoi, Vietnam, ORCID: 0000-0003-3987-3135.
Tran Quoc ThangFaculty of Public Health, Phenikaa University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nguyen Thi Lan HuongInstitute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam.
Nguyen Bich NguyetFaculty of Medicine, Dai Nam University, Hanoi, Vietnam, ORCID: 0000-0003-3987-3135.
Hoang Duc HanhFaculty of Medicine, Dai Nam University, Hanoi, Vietnam, ORCID: 0000-0003-3987-3135.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed smartphone addiction, internet addiction, eHealth literacy, social support, loneliness, depression, and sleep quality among health sciences students, and examined their structural relationships using structural equation modeling (SEM). Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 447 Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy students at a university in Hanoi. Data were collected using a self-administered paper questionnaire incorporating validated instruments: SAS-SV, IAT-6, eHEALS, DUFSSQ-8, UCLA-3, PHQ-9, and B-PSQI. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and SEM were performed using Stata 17 and SmartPLS 3.0. Results: Participants reported moderate levels of smartphone addiction (35.7 ± 8.9) and internet addiction (13.1 ± 4.8). Internet addiction demonstrated direct effects on higher depression (β = 0.36, p < 0.001), poorer sleep quality (β = 0.27, p < 0.001), and lower social support (β = -0.25, p < 0.001). Smartphone addiction was positively associated with eHealth literacy (β = 0.21, p < 0.001) and loneliness (β = 0.16, p = 0.003). Social support showed strong inverse associations with depression, loneliness, and poor sleep, and mediated the effects of internet addiction on all three outcomes. eHealth literacy did not attenuate adverse effects. Conclusions: Among Vietnamese health science students, problematic smartphone and internet use is associated with greater loneliness, depressive symptoms, and sleep disturbances. Enhancing social support ‒ rather than relying solely on eHealth literacy ‒ appears critical to reducing these harms. Universities should implement strategies that foster digital well-being, limit problematic technology use, and strengthen peer connectedness and supportive campus environments.

Indexed as

depressionehealth literacyinternet addictionsleep qualitysmartphone addictionsocial supportstructural equation modeling

Identifiers

PMID41768022
PMCPMC12937498

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

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.