Smartphone Addiction Among Zimbabwean Undergraduate Students: A Prevalence and Cross-Cultural Validation of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV).

INTRODUCTION

Smartphones are an invaluable daily tool, with 57% of the global population (4.6 billion people) having mobile access to the internet. However, excessive/problematic use of smartphones is highly prevalent globally. The use of smartphones, particularly among university students, offers many unique opportunities for learning, entrepreneurship, and social interaction. Despite these benefits, "excessive" or "compulsive" use of smartphones has emerged as a growing concern.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). We also assessed the prevalence of smartphone addiction and its factors among Zimbabwean university students (N=380). Data were analysed through factor analyses and binary logistic regression using SPSS and STATA at a 0.05 significance level.

FINDINGS: Participants' mean age was 21.90 (±1.90) years, and most participants were female (56.3%). The SAS-SV yielded a two-factor solution, with high reliability (α=0.84) and sufficient construct validity. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 54.2%. Using social media [OR=2.7; 95% CI=(1.2-5.9)], using a smartphone for entertainment [OR=2.2; 95%CI=(1.2-4.0)], experiencing coronavirus-induced anxiety [OR=2.70; 95% CI=(1.2-5.9)], and encountering an adverse event [OR=1.8; 95% CI=(1.02 - 3.23)] were associated with an increased risk of smartphone addiction. Conversely, using smartphones for academic work was protective against smartphone addiction [OR=0.38; 95% CI=(0.19-0.77)].

CONCLUSION

Our study shows the SAS-SV is a brief and psychometrically robust outcome measure for routine clinical and research usage. Also, there is a high burden of smartphone addiction among university students from low-income countries and the need for bespoke interventions.