The relationship between screen time and psychological problem patterns of behavior

Relevance. The analysis of scientific literature demonstrates the relevance of studying the impact of screen time on human mental health, and the importance of an in-depth approach. Despite a large number of studies confirming the negative impact of frequent use of digital devices on the development of psychopathologies, many of the clinical manifestations still remain unexplored.

Purpose – to establish the existence and determine the nature of the relationship between the amount of time spent using digital devices and the psychological characteristics of a person.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted on a sample of 150 students from Kursk State Medical University (Kursk, Russian Federation). The average age of the study participants was 19.25 years (σ=0.86). The proportion of women was 64.67%, men - 35.33%. The subjects were given access to a set of necessary tools, which consisted of an anonymous questionnaire and 5 standardized psychological tests (the Beck depression scale, the Beck anxiety scale, the integrative anxiety test, the adult ADHD diagnostic scale, and the symptomatic questionnaire). The statistical analysis of the obtained results was performed in the Microsoft Excel program. The reliability of the psychometric scales was assessed based on the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The linear correlation and the significance of the results were calculated according to Spearman.

Results. The data obtained demonstrate a weak relationship between the duration of gadget use and the above-mentioned psychological characteristics, which suggests that there is no influence of the digital field on the development of depressive, anxious, sensitive traits, and somatic manifestations, which requires further study. There are the most significant, strong direct connections between depression, anxiety and the considered psychological personality traits, which allows us to suggest the predominant role of anxiety and depression in the formation of the analyzed characteristics.

Conclusion. Due to the fact that the relationship between the studied indicators was identified, but had a weak force, further research should be directed to studying the relationship between mental health parameters and the specific needs of using gadgets in everyday life.

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