Peer-Reviewed Study

Mobile Phone Addiction Among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Oct 2019 🇮🇳 Journal of Addictions Nursing PEER-REVIEWED PAYWALLED — LINKED, NOT HOSTED

In this Journal of Addictions Nursing systematic review, Maya Sahu, Sailaxmi Gandhi, and Manoj Kumar Sharma pooled 12 descriptive studies on mobile-phone use among children and adolescents. They report that roughly 6% to 16% of the young people studied across these 12 studies showed patterns of problematic mobile-phone use, and that this use was associated, in the reviewed literature, with low mood, tension and anxiety, disrupted sleep from staying up late, and behavioral concerns including hyperactivity and conduct problems. The authors note that no controlled intervention studies were available for children and adolescents specifically, calling this an urgent research gap, while stressing mobile phones' genuine value for maintaining social connection. TechKids Foundation cites this review as a clinician-authored map of what is, and is not, yet established about mobile-phone use and youth mental health in the published literature.

12 descriptive studies pooled; no interventional studies met inclusion criteria

The review found a gap in the literature: while descriptive studies on prevalence and correlates exist, no controlled treatment/intervention studies for children and adolescents specifically were identified as of the 2019 search.

~6%–16% prevalence of problematic mobile-phone use

Across the pooled studies, problematic mobile-phone use among children and adolescents was estimated in this range, with hyperactivity and conduct problems showing the strongest associations among behavioral measures.

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CITATION

Sahu, Maya, Sailaxmi Gandhi, and Manoj Kumar Sharma. "Mobile Phone Addiction Among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review." Journal of Addictions Nursing 30, no. 4 (2019): 261–268. https://doi.org/10.1097/JAN.0000000000000309

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