Abstract
With the increase in technology use by youth in recent decades, there is a need to examine how the overuse of technology influences youth mental health and wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between problem technology use and psychological distress in a representative sample of adolescents residing in Ontario, Canada. Self-reported data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 4846 students in grades 9 to 12 (mean age, 15.9 ± 1.3 years) who participated in the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Problem technology use was measured using the 6-item Short Problem Internet Use Test, and psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, ethnoracial background, subjective socioeconomic status, tobacco cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and cannabis use. We found that 35.8% of students used technology for more than 5 hours per day, and 18.7% of students were identified as having symptoms in line with moderate-to-serious problem technology use, although symptoms were more common in females than males (22.5% vs. 14.9%, respectively). Moderate-to-serious problem technology use was associated with serious psychological distress among both males (OR = 4.57, 95% CI = 3.27–6.38) and females (OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 2.23–3.75) in adjusted models. Findings from this study show that problem technology use is strongly associated with psychological distress in adolescents, with stronger associations in males than females. Appropriate intervention strategies are needed to mitigate the adverse effects of technology use among secondary school students.
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Data Availability
The data presented in this article are not readily available because of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s and the Ontario Public and Catholic School Board’s institutional Research Ethics Board agreements. Requests to access the data should be directed to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at hayley.hamilton@camh.ca.
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Acknowledgements
JPC is supported by the CHEO Research Institute.
Funding
The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health initiative, was funded in part through ongoing support from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, as well as targeted funding from several provincial agencies.
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LM, HSK, HAH and JPC conceptualized the study; HSK analyzed the data; LM and JPC drafted the manuscript; LM, HSK, HAH, and JPC interpreted the data; and HSH, HAH, and JPC revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. All of the authors approved the final version submitted for publication.
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The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Research Ethics Boards of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and York University, as well as 34 school board research review committees.
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Margetson, L., Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., Hamilton, H.A. et al. Problem Technology Use and Psychological Distress Among Adolescents in Ontario, Canada. J. technol. behav. sci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-024-00425-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-024-00425-7