「Smartphone use, gender, and adolescent mental health: Longitudinal evidence from South Korea」
●저자 : Robert Rudolf (제1저자)
●학술지명 : SSM - Population Health
●권호 : 28
●게재년월 : 2024년 12월
●링크: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235282732400123X
[초록]
Purpose
This study investigates the relationship between smartphone use time (SUT), gender, and adolescent mental health. Potential mechanisms that underlie this link are also explored.
Methods
Using four waves of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 (KCYPS 2018) from 2018 to 2021, we track 2,588 students from middle school grade 1 (median age 13) to high school grade 1 (median age 16). We employ fixed effects and fixed-effects instrumental variable regression techniques, and conduct moderation and heterogeneity analyses with regards to gender, type of use, pre-existing conditions, and developmental stage.
Results
Our findings indicate that longer daily smartphone use causes increased depressive symptoms (β = 0.208, p < 0.01) and higher suicidal ideation (β = 0.125, p < 0.05) for girls, yet not for boys. Moreover, social and active types of smartphone usage such as calling and messaging friends and family are associated with lower depressive symptoms, yet do not moderate the adverse effect of SUT on adolescent mental health. Findings further show that pre-existing conditions (personal history of depressive symptoms) and the timing of puberty moderate the effect of SUT on depressive symptoms. Addictive smartphone behavior and lack of self-control is frequent within the Korean adolescent population, and more prevalent among girls (15–26.3%; 34.5–48.1%) than boys (11.9–21.3%; 28.6–38.8%).
Conclusion
Our findings highlight the gendered nature of smartphone use effects on adolescent mental health, suggesting the need for tailored interventions. The prevalence of addictive behaviors, especially among girls, calls for targeted school interventions to enhance self-control and digital literacy while at the same time showing the need for parental mediation including clear rules and time limits in adolescents’ use of digital devices. The positive role of active and social smartphone use indicates potential for promoting healthier usage patterns.