Association between General Health and Mobile Phone Dependency among Medical University Students: A Cross-sectional Study in Iran

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone dependency is an emerging public health problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between general health and mobile phone dependency in college students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 334 students from Arak University of Medical Sciences of Iran were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected by (1) demographic checklist, (2) 27-item Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale, and (3) General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). RESULTS: Mean scores of mobile phone dependency and GHQ-28 were 119.83 ± 43.53 and 23.73 ± 12.77, respectively. In multiple linear regression, age, family economic status, anxiety and sleep disorder, and social dysfunction were the main significant predictors of mobile phone dependency (R = 0.469, R(2) = 0.220, adjusted R(2) = 0.203). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the finding of this study, prevention strategies for management of mobile phone use in students can be adopted.