Association between duration of gadget use and the socio-emotional difficulties of junior high school students in selected private schools in Quezon City: An analytic cross-sectional study / The Health Sciences Journal

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Gadget use with its diverse range of functions from communication to navigation andentertainment, has brought increasing concerns about its effects on psychological health. Despitegrowing evidence on its effect among children, its effect on the adolescent age group, particularly onthe socio-emotional dimension remains uncertain.METHOD: An analytical cross-sectional study was done to identify a possible association between durationof gadget use and socio-emotional difficulties of an adolescent. A cluster sample of junior high schoolstudents aged 13-17 years old from four selected private schools were invited to answer the Strengthsand Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to measure socio-emotional difficulties and provide information onthe type and duration of gadget use. Scores derived from the SDQ were classified as normal, borderlineand abnormal based on the questionnaire's scoring guide. Association between duration of gadget useand strengths and difficulties was tested using chi-square, controlling for sex and age groups.RESULTS: Majority of the 315 respondents had normal scores on the strengths and difficulties sub-scales.Regardless of the duration of gadget use, majority of the respondents had normal prosocial behaviorand likewise scored normal on all dimensions of the Difficulties subscale. There was no significantassociation between duration of gadget use and Strength (p = 0.47) and Difficulties scores (p = 0.35).Stratifying by sex and age groups likewise resulted in insignificant associations (p > 0.05). Those withprolonged gadget use were 1.68 times more likely to have abnormal scores on the Difficulties subscalecompared with those with normal gadget use but the association was not significant (95% CI 0.82, 3.34).CONCLUSION: There was no significant association between duration of gadget use and socio-emotionaldifficulties of adolescents in selected private schools, controlling for sex and age groups.