Smartphone addiction in students: A qualitative examination of the components model of addiction using face-to-face interviews.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Smartphone use has increased markedly over the past decade and recent research has demonstrated that a small minority of users experience problematic consequences, which in extreme cases have been contextualized as an addiction. To date, most research have been quantitative and survey-based. This study qualitatively examined the components model of addiction for both "addicted" and "non-addicted" users. METHODS: A screening tool comprising 10 dichotomous items was administered to 40 college students. Of these, six addicted and six non-addicted participants were identified on the basis of their score on the screening tool and were asked to participate in a semi-structured interview. The interview questions were based on the components model of addiction comprising six domains (i.e., salience, withdrawal, conflict, relapse and reinstatement, tolerance, and mood modification). Directed content analysis was used to analyze the transcribed data and subthemes as well as emerging themes for the study as a whole were established. RESULTS: There was some evidence of demarcation between smartphone addicts on the dimensions of salience, tolerance, withdrawal, and conflict. Mood modification was not much different in either group, and no participant reported relapse. CONCLUSIONS: The non-addicted group had much greater control over their smartphone usage than the addicted group on four (of six) aforementioned dimensions of behavioral addiction. Consequently, the main findings of this study provided good support for the components model of behavioral addiction.

Change in Attitude among Nursing Undergraduate Students Following One-Month Exposure in a Mental Healthcare Setting.

BACKGROUND: Attitude of treating professionals plays an important role in the treatment of mental illnesses. Nursing professionals are an important part of the mental health care team. As a part of their nursing coursework, nursing students are posted in a mental health setting. It is important to assess the impact of such postings on their attitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 235 undergraduate nursing students posted in a mental healthcare setting for one month participated in the study. Their attitude towards mental illness and psychiatry was assessed before and after the posting, using Personal data sheet, Attitude Scale of Mental Illness (ASMI), and Attitude towards Psychiatry Scale (ATP). RESULTS: At pre-assessment, the nursing students had a negative attitude on all dimensions of ASMI except benevolence, and positive attitude on all the six domains of ATP. At post-assessment, attitude improved significantly on pessimistic prediction dimension of ASMI, and they were able to maintain their positive attitude on ATP. CONCLUSIONS: One-month posting had a weak positive impact on attitude towards mental illness and no detrimental impact on attitude towards psychiatry. There is a need for better efforts to increase the impact of training on attitude towards mental illness.