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. 2022 Mar 11;19(6):3303.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063303.

Association between the Perceived Household Financial Decline Due to COVID-19 and Smartphone Dependency among Korean Adolescents

Yun Hwa Jung  1   2 , Soo Young Kim  1   2 , Sung-In Jang  2   3 , Eun-Cheol Park  2   3 , Jaeyong Shin  2   3 , Junghwan Suh  4
Affiliations

Association between the Perceived Household Financial Decline Due to COVID-19 and Smartphone Dependency among Korean Adolescents

Yun Hwa Jung et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This cross-sectional study identified the association between COVID-19-related perceived household financial decline and smartphone dependency among adolescents in South Korea. Data from the 2020 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Korea was used and 54,809 middle and high school students were included. COVID-19-related perceived household financial decline was categorized as no financial decline, mild, moderate, and severe. Smartphone dependency was calculated by 10 questions and was largely categorized as yes and no, and as normal, low, and high (prevalence rate: 25.0%). Binary and multinomial regression analyses were performed to analyze the association. The more severe the financial decline, the more pronounced the risk of high-risk smartphone dependency (mild financial decline: odds ratio (OR) 1.11, 95% CI 0.96-1.28; moderate: OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.04-1.43; severe: OR 2.56, 95% CI 2.06-3.17). Poor family relationships (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.10) and severe social conflict (OR 2.99, 95% CI 2.50-3.58) were also related to smartphone dependency. The ORs were 2.63 with more than three bathrooms and 1.63 with their own bedroom. Smartphone dependency among adolescents is closely related to COVID-19-related perceived household financial decline. As smartphone dependency relates to complicated psychological issues, further evaluation is necessary, especially for vulnerable adolescents.

Keywords: COVID-19; addictive behavior; adolescent; income; poverty; smartphone.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of household financial decline due to COVID-19 associated with smartphone dependency (The severity of smartphone dependency on household financial decline due to COVID-19 was analyzed by comparing the low-risk group and the high-risk group. Reference group: No financial decline. *: p ≤ 0.05, ***: p ≤ 0.001, ****: p ≤ 0.0001).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results of subgroup analysis stratified by smartphone dependency questions (The risk of each item on the smartphone dependency scale was analyzed according to the severity of household financial decline. Reference group: No financial decline. *: p ≤ 0.05, **: p ≤ 0.01, ***: p ≤ 0.001, ****: p ≤ 0.0001).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Results of subgroup analysis stratified by family affluence questions (The risk of smartphone dependency due household financial decline caused by COVID-19 was analyzed by each item on the family affluence scale. Reference group: No financial decline. *: p ≤ 0.05, **: p ≤ 0.01, ***: p ≤ 0.001, ****: p ≤ 0.0001).
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