Developing and Testing a Smartphone Dependency Scale Assessing Addiction Risk

A 2019 Pew study of emerging economies revealed citizen concerns over smartphone use as risky behavior and their ill effects, such as addiction and overdependency, among many factors. In response, the authors developed a smartphone dependency scale (SDS) of factors that contribute to smartphone addiction, particularly for emerging economies like the Philippines. The instrument was developed from previously validated constructs. They propose that social influence, convenience, affective (anxiety), physiological (maladjustment), and cognitive (mindfulness) factors separately drive smartphone dependency. To test the SDS, the authors surveyed 901 Philippine participants. The scales showed excellent internal consistency and reliability and adequate concurrent and criterion-related validities. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that SDS factors had good data fit. This instrument is a first step in (1) exploring why individuals become dependent (addicted) on mobile devices and (2) stimulating further research concerning smartphone dependency for emerging market settings.