Characteristics and evolution of depressive symptoms among adolescents in relation to varying durations of mobile phone usage: A large-sample network analysis

Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2024-05-27

WANG, Lingzhi FENG, Zhengzhi PENG, Yao Li, Bowen

Abstract： Depression-induced suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, and prolonged mobile phone usage has emerged as a significant public health concern with this demographic. However, the relationship between the duration of mobile phone usage and the manifestation of depressive symptoms in adolescents remains unexplored. This study aims to investigate the characteristics, evolution patterns, and gender differences in depressive symptoms among adolescents based on varying durations of mobile phone usage, as well as to provide new strategies for the prevention and control of depression among them. A large-scale survey was conducted on 167,728 adolescents in Nanchong City using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Mobile phone usage was categorized as follows: Non-use on rest days (T1), usage on rest days for ≤3 hours per day (T2), and usage on rest days for >3 hours per day (T3). The collected data were analyzed using R software (version 4.3.2) and its network analysis packages. The study compared the differences in the depressive symptom networks among adolescents with varying duration of mobile phone usage on rest days, as well as the differences between genders for the same mobile phone usage duration. Network analysis revealed that the longer the duration of mobile phone usage among adolescents, the more severe the symptoms of depression. Among the symptoms of depression in adolescents, ’sadness’, ’sense of failure’, ’lack of pleasure’, and ’lack of happiness’ have a higher degree of strength centrality. We performed a comparative analysis of the depression symptom network under different mobile phone usage durations on rest days. There were no significant differences in global strength and network edges between the T2 and T1 networks, but a significant difference in network structure, with the strength centrality of one symptom being significantly different. The T3 vs. T1 network showed significant differences in global strength, network structure, and network edges, with 32 edges showing significant differences and the strength centrality of 8 symptoms being significantly different. The T3 vs. T2 network also showed significant differences in global strength, network structure, and network edges, with 19 edges showing significant differences and the strength centrality of 10 symptoms being significantly different. Additionally, we also revealed the comparative analysis of the depression symptom network among different genders with the same mobile phone usage duration on rest days. Under the T1 condition, there were no significant differences in network structure and network edges between the female and male groups, but a significant difference in global strength, with the strength centrality of one symptom being significantly different. Under the T2 and T3 conditions, there were significant differences in global strength, network structure, and network edges between female and male groups. Under the T2 condition, there were significant differences in 25 edges and the strength centrality of 8 symptoms. Under the T3 condition, there were significant differences in 15 edges and the strength centrality of 5 symptoms. The current study indicated that the characteristics and evolution patterns of depressive symptoms in adolescents varied according to the duration of mobile phone usage, and notable gender differences. This study, based on the evolution patterns of various depressive symptoms, innovatively proposes four evolution patterns of depressive symptoms. This findings provide new strategies for the prevention and control of adolescent depression.

Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review

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