TY - JOUR
T1 - An examination of problematic mobile phone use in the United Arab Emirates
T2 - Prevalence, correlates, and predictors in a college-aged sample of young adults
AU - Vally, Zahir
AU - El Hichami, Fatima
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/6
Y1 - 2019/6
N2 - Despite a number of benefits, mobile phones can carry many deleterious effects. We aimed to determine the extent of problematic mobile phone use in a sample of college-aged young adults in the United Arab Emirates. We also examined whether a number of factors were correlated with and predicted problematic use. We conducted a cross-sectional, correlational study in which a sample of 350 young adults (M = 20.70, SD = 2.14, range: 18–33 years)completed a survey that included socio-demographic variables, and measures of problematic mobile phone use (MPPUS-10), depression, and low self-esteem. One third of the sample evidenced scores indicative of problematic mobile phone use (M = 47.14, SD = 19.98). Logistic regression identified female gender, increasing daily time using the mobile phone, and elevated depressive symptomology predicted higher MPPUS-10 scores. The MPPUS-10 evidenced acceptable reliability and validity in this sample. The prevalence of problematic mobile phone use was considerable in this sample, higher in comparison to previous reports from Europe and the Far East.
AB - Despite a number of benefits, mobile phones can carry many deleterious effects. We aimed to determine the extent of problematic mobile phone use in a sample of college-aged young adults in the United Arab Emirates. We also examined whether a number of factors were correlated with and predicted problematic use. We conducted a cross-sectional, correlational study in which a sample of 350 young adults (M = 20.70, SD = 2.14, range: 18–33 years)completed a survey that included socio-demographic variables, and measures of problematic mobile phone use (MPPUS-10), depression, and low self-esteem. One third of the sample evidenced scores indicative of problematic mobile phone use (M = 47.14, SD = 19.98). Logistic regression identified female gender, increasing daily time using the mobile phone, and elevated depressive symptomology predicted higher MPPUS-10 scores. The MPPUS-10 evidenced acceptable reliability and validity in this sample. The prevalence of problematic mobile phone use was considerable in this sample, higher in comparison to previous reports from Europe and the Far East.
KW - Addictive behavior
KW - Arab
KW - Middle East
KW - Mobile dependence
KW - Mobile phone
KW - Problematic use
KW - Smartphone
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U2 - 10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100185
DO - 10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100185
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85065234960
VL - 9
JO - Addictive Behaviors Reports
JF - Addictive Behaviors Reports
SN - 2352-8532
M1 - 100185
ER -