Mobile-phone addiction in adolescence: The Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMD)

• Authors: Chóliz, M

Abstracts

EN

Introduction: The mobile phone is among the technological tools with the greatest presence in the market. During a period of scarcely 10 years, it has gone from being almost non-existent to being the device most used (and desired) by adolescents. Its physical characteristics as well as the psychological processes involved in its use explain both the fascination it elicits and the abuse or dependence it can come to provoke or encourage in adolescents. This study entailed the development and evaluation of a questionnaire designed to evaluate dependence on the mobile phone. Materials and methods: The items included in this instrument were developed based on criteria contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) for dependence disorder. The questionnaires were administered to a total of 2,486 adolescents aged 12–18 years of age, and factor analyses were then performed. Results: The questionnaire is characterised by good psychometric properties as well as by the ability to discriminate between sexes and among age groups in an adolescent sample. The factors comprising this instrument are congruent with the concept of dependence as defined in the DSM-IV-TR. The process by which this questionnaire was developed is described, and the final version of the questionnaire is presented. Conclusion: The Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMP) is a questionnaire built taking into account the dependence criteria of DSM-IV-TR. The process by which this questionnaire was developed is described, and the final version of the questionnaire is presented.

Keywords

EN

Addiction; mobile dependence; mobile phone; questionnaire; adolescence; sex differences

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku
• Journal: Progress in Health Sciences
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 33-44

Contributors

author

Chóliz, M