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Association between smartphone addiction risk, sleep quality, and sleep duration among Korean school-age children: a population-based panel study

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Abstract

Smartphone addiction is regarded as a public health threat to the lives of children and adolescents. However, its association with sleep quality and quantity is poorly understood in the Korean context. This study investigated the association between smartphone addiction, sleep quality, and sleep duration among Korean school-age children. Our study employed data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey of 2018–2019, which included 4287 participants. Smartphone addiction was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale. A generalized estimating equation model was used to analyze the data. Children in the high-risk group showed an increased likelihood of poor sleep quality compared to those in the low-risk group (odds ratio (OR) = 1.59, confidence interval (CI) [1.06–2.38]). Children in the potential-risk and high-risk groups showed an increased likelihood of short sleep duration compared to those in the low-risk group (potential-risk: OR = 1.44, CI [1.09–1.90]; high-risk: OR = 2.25, CI [1.66–3.05]) Children who are at high risk for smartphone addiction are likely to have poor sleep quality and short sleep duration. Therefore, appropriate interventions and continuous monitoring are required to protect children from smartphone addiction and improve their sleep quality and duration.

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Acknowledgements

Author MP designed this study, performed statistical analysis, drafted and completed the manuscript. Authors SHJ, KH, and YSP contributed to the concept and design of the study and revised the manuscript. Authors ECP and SYJ directed this study. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Minah Park, Sung Hoon Jeong & Yu Shin Park

  2. Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Minah Park, Sung Hoon Jeong, Kyungduk Huh, Yu Shin Park, Eun-Cheol Park & Suk-Yong Jang

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Kyungduk Huh & Eun-Cheol Park

  4. Department of Healthcare Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Suk-Yong Jang

Authors
  1. Minah Park
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  2. Sung Hoon Jeong
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  3. Kyungduk Huh
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  4. Yu Shin Park
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  5. Eun-Cheol Park
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  6. Suk-Yong Jang
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Correspondence to Suk-Yong Jang.

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Conflict of interest

Minah Park, Sung Hoon Jeong, Kyungduk Huh, Yu Shin Park, Eun-Cheol Park, Suk-Yong Jang declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical committee permission

Our study did not need to address any ethical concerns, because the KCYPS data are a secondary dataset that is available to the public and does not contain private information.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Park, M., Jeong, S.H., Huh, K. et al. Association between smartphone addiction risk, sleep quality, and sleep duration among Korean school-age children: a population-based panel study. Sleep Biol. Rhythms 20, 371–380 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-022-00377-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41105-022-00377-6

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