Factors related to the Overuse of Mobile Phone in Elementary School Students.

Lee,  Kyoung Sook; Ahn,  Hwang Ran; Lee,  Kyung Hee

doi:2011.20.3.271

J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > Volume 20(3); 2011 > Article

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2011;20(3):271-280.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2011.20.3.271 Published online September 30, 2011.

Factors related to the Overuse of Mobile Phone in Elementary School Students.

Kyoung Sook Lee, Hwang Ran Ahn, Kyung Hee Lee

¹Department of Nursing, Ulsan College, Korea. thinovation@naver.com
²College of Nursing, Gyeongsang National University, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was done to explore the correlation among mobile phone overuse, mental health and school adaptation, and to identify factors related mobile phone overuse. METHODS: A questionnaire was filled out by 943 elementary school students from 3rd to 6th grade in the cities of Busan and Ulsan. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program were used to analyze the collected data. RESULTS: Mobile phone overuse in the elementary school students was positively correlated with mental health, and negatively correlated with school adaptation. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed the factors as school grade, gender, depression, anxiety, learning adaptation, adaptation to friends and adaptation rules significantly accounted for 23% of the variance for mobile phone overuse. The most significant factor influencing overuse of mobile phone was school grade. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that early screening and intervention programs for students with low mental health and low school adjustment would be helpful in preventing future mobile phone overuse.

Key Words: Mobile phone overuse; Mental health; School adaptation