The Influence of Smartphone Addiction on Depression and Communication Competence among College Students

Objectives: This study is to investigate the relationships among depression, communication competence and level of Smartphone addiction and to identify factors related to Smartphone addiction of college students. Methods/ Statistical Analysis: Participants in this cross-sectional survey were 293 undergraduate students. Data were collected from August 28 to September 15, 2015 using the self-report questionnaire. Findings: 14.7% of participants have a risk group of Smartphone addiction. Depression (r = .407, p<.001) was positively related to Smartphone addiction and communication competence (r = -.281, p<.001) was negatively related to Smartphone addiction. Depression (β = .302, p<.001), communication competence (β =-.148, p<.01), daily Smartphone using time (β = .144, p<.01), grade (β = .136, p<.01), academic achievement (β = .119, p<.05) and gender (β = .117, p<.05) were identified as significant predictors of Smartphone addiction. Improvements/Applications: These findings support the importance of establishing intervention strategies designed to decrease depression of students to help them prevent Smartphone addiction.