Educational Needs for Prevention of Cell Phone Addiction in Korean Adolescents

Koo, Hyun Young; Park, Hyun Sook

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was done to develop an educational needs scale for the prevention of cell phone addiction and to investigate the educational needs for prevention of cell phone addiction in Korean adolescents.
METHODS
The participants were 609 adolescents in one middle school and two high schools. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires, and analyzed using the SPSS program.
RESULTS
Twenty items regarding the educational needs for prevention of cell phone addiction were selected for the final scale, and categorized into 3 factors (diagnosis and management, properties, and definition and actual condition) which explained 61.09% of the total variance. The educational needs for the prevention of cell phone addiction in adolescents were moderate, with items related to diagnosis and management ranked as most important. The educational needs for prevention of cell phone addiction varied by gender, grade, academic achievement, perception of health status, satisfaction with school, and text messaging participants.
CONCLUSION
The findings indicate that educational needs for diagnosis and management of cell phone addiction ranked as most important in adolescents. Therefore, programs related to the prevention and management of cell phone addiction based on the educational needs of adolescents should be provided.