Despite the benefits of smartphones, many adverse effects have emerged. However, to date, there was no particular approach to treat or prevent smartphone addiction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of a home-based daily journal of smartphone use (HDJ-S) in Korean adolescents. Three hundred thirty five middle school students participated in this study. The severity of smartphone addiction was measured using the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale. The ability to control smartphone use was evaluated with the Motive Scale for Smartphone Regulation. We used the Parents' Concerns for Children's Smartphone Activities Scale to measure parental monitoring and supervision of adolescents' smartphone activities. The Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale classified subjects into high risk and non-high risk for smartphone addiction, according to total scores. Forty six participants (14%) were high risk for smartphone addiction. The high risk group performed the HDJ-S for two weeks, and the same scales were subsequently assessed. After performing the HDJ-S, the total scores of the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale decreased significantly in the high risk group (P < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the total scores of the Parents' Concerns for Children's Smartphone Activities Scale in the high risk group between baseline and following two weeks of treatment (P < 0.05). The HDJ-S was effective for adolescents with smartphone addiction and increased the parents' concerns for their children's smartphone activities. We suggested that HDJ-S would be considered as a treatment and prevention for smartphone addiction.
Adolescent ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Behavior, Addictive/*pathology/psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Program Evaluation ; Republic of Korea ; *Smartphone

INTRODUCTIONIncrease in internet use and video-gaming contributes to public concern on pathological or obsessive play of video games among children and adolescents worldwide. Nevertheless, little is known about the prevalence of pathological symptoms in video-gaming among Singaporean youth and the psychometric properties of instruments measuring pathological symptoms in video-gaming.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of 2998 children and adolescents from 6 primary and 6 secondary schools in Singapore responded to a comprehensive survey questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, video-gaming habits, school performance, somatic symptoms, various psychological traits, social functioning and pathological symptoms of video-gaming. After weighting, the survey data were analysed to determine the prevalence of pathological video-gaming among Singaporean youth and gender differences in the prevalence. The construct validity of instrument used to measure pathological symptoms of video-gaming was tested.

RESULTSOf all the study participants, 8.7% were classified as pathological players with more boys reporting more pathological symptoms than girls. All variables, including impulse control problem, social competence, hostility, academic performance, and damages to social functioning, tested for construct validity, were significantly associated with pathological status, providing good evidence for the construct validity of the instrument used.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence rate of pathological video-gaming among Singaporean youth is comparable with that from other countries studied thus far, and gender differences are also consistent with the findings of prior research. The positive evidence of construct validity supports the potential use of the instrument for future research and clinical screening on Singapore children and adolescents' pathological video-gaming.

Adolescent ; Behavior, Addictive ; epidemiology ; pathology ; psychology ; Child ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Psychopathology ; Sex Factors ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Statistics as Topic ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Video Games ; adverse effects ; psychology