A network analysis of problematic smartphone use in Japanese young adults

by Masaru Tateno, Takahiro A. Kato, Tomohiro Shirasaka, Junichiro Kanazawa, Wataru Ukai, Tomoya Hirota

We aimed to explore the overall network structure of problematic smartphone use symptoms assessed by smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV) and to identify which items could play important roles in the network.

487 college and university students filled out the study questionnaire, including SAS-SV. We constructed a regularized partial correlation network among the 10 items of SAS-SV. We calculated three indices of node centrality: strength, closeness, and betweenness, to quantify the importance of each SAS-SV item.

We identified 34 edges in the estimated network. In the given network, one item pertaining to withdrawal symptom hadthe highest strength and high closeness centrality. Additionally, one item related to preoccupation was also found to have high centrality indices.

Our results indicating the central role of one withdrawal symptom and one preoccupation symptom in the symptom network of problematic smartphone use in young adults were in line with a previous study targeting school-age children. Longitudinal study designs are required to elicit the role of these central items on the formation and maintenance of this behavioral problem.