Understanding Smartphone Addiction Structure and Prevalence among the Adult Egyptian Students.

تركز المقالة على دراسة البنية السيكومترية وانتشار إدمان الهواتف الذكية بين طلاب المدارس الثانوية والجامعات في مصر الذين تتراوح أعمارهم بين 16 و24 عامًا. باستخدام مقياس إدمان الهواتف الذكية – النسخة المختصرة (مقياس SAS-SV)، حددت الدراسة نموذجًا قويًا مكونًا من ثلاثة عوامل: العواقب السلبية، الاستخدام القهري والاعتماد، والوقت/التحمل، معتمدة على صلاحية وموثوقية عالية. كشفت النتائج عن معدل انتشار مرتفع لإدمان الهواتف الذكية بنسبة 52%، وهو أعلى من العديد من التقديرات الإقليمية والدولية قبل جائحة كوفيد-19، لكنه مشابه لبعض الدول العربية والنامية. تسلط الدراسة الضوء على تأثير عوامل مرتبطة بجائحة كوفيد-19 والسياقات الثقافية في زيادة استخدام الهواتف الذكية، وتؤكد على ضرورة الفحص المبكر والتدخلات الحساسة ثقافيًا لمعالجة الآثار النفسية والوظيفية للاستخدام المفرط للهواتف الذكية في هذه الفئة السكانية. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Smartphone addiction has emerged as a growing public health concern among adolescents and young adults, yet evidence regarding its underlying structure and prevalence in Arab contexts, particularly Egypt, remains limited. This study aimed to examine the psychometric structure and prevalence of smartphone addiction among Egyptian secondary school and university students. Methods: A descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional design was employed. The sample consisted of 394 students (85.8% females) aged 16 to 24 years (M = 18.99, SD = 2.68), recruited using convenience sampling via WhatsApp groups from the Faculty of Education, Suez Canal University, and third-year secondary schools in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt. Smartphone addiction was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). Construct validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the WLSMV estimator due to non-normal item distributions. Reliability was evaluated using ordinal alpha and squared omega coefficients. Prevalence was estimated using a median cut-off score derived from ROC analysis. Results: CFA results supported a three-factor model of smartphone addiction, negative consequences, compulsive use and dependency, and time/tolerance, which demonstrated superior fit compared to a general factor model. Standardized factor loadings were high and significant, and average variance extracted values exceeded recommended thresholds, indicating strong convergent validity. The scale showed high internal consistency across all subscales and the total score (α = 0.82-0.89). Using a median cut-off score of 26, 52% of participants were classified as exhibiting smartphone addiction. This prevalence rate was higher than that reported in several pre-pandemic regional and international studies, yet comparable to estimates observed in some Arab and developing countries. Conclusions: The findings provide robust psychometric evidence supporting the multidimensional structure of smartphone addiction among Egyptian students and reveal a relatively high prevalence rate. These results underscore the need for early screening, culturally informed prevention strategies, and targeted interventions to mitigate the adverse psychological and functional consequences of excessive smartphone use in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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