Data from: Transitions in smartphone addiction proneness among children: the effect of gender and use patterns

Objectives This study assessed the incidence of transitions in smartphone
addiction proneness (SAP) among children and examined the effects of
gender, use patterns (social networking sites (SNSs) use and smartphone
gaming) and depression on smartphone addiction transitions.Methods A
representative sample of 2,155 children from Taipei completed longitudinal
surveys in both 2015 (5th grade) and 2016 (6th grade). Latent transition
analysis (LTA) was used to characterize transitions in SAP and to examine
the effects of use patterns and depression on SAP transitions among boys
and girls. Results LTA identified four latent statuses of SAP: about half
of the children were in non-SAP status, one-fifth were in tolerance
status, one-sixth were in withdrawal status, and one-seventh were in
high-SAP status. Both boys and girls had a higher prevalence of high-SAP
and tolerance in 6th grade than in 5th grade, whereas in both grades boys
had a higher prevalence of high-SAP and withdrawal, and girls had a higher
prevalence of non-SAP and tolerance. Controlling for parents’ education,
family structure, and household income, higher use of SNSs by children,
increasing use of mobile gaming and higher level of depression were
individually associated with increased odds of being in one of the three
SAP statuses other than non-SAP. When all three covariates were jointly
entered into the model, usage of SNSs and depression remained significant
predictors. Conclusion Both boys and girls tended to transition to
tolerance or high-SAP statuses, while children’s depression and their
usage of SNSs increased the risk of smartphone addiction.