Canonical Analysis of the Relationship between Mobile Addiction and the Level of Psychological Security and Risky Behaviors among Female University Students

One of the significant issues that young people are currently struggling with is mobile addiction. The aim of this study was to identify the canonical relationship between components of mobile addiction, psychological security, and risky behaviors of female university students.

This research was correlation-based in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of nature and method. The target population consisted of 9,000 undergraduate female students of Tabriz Islamic Azad University. Out of these students, 300 volunteered online through a call due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus in this study. Data were collected using reliable questionnaires such as the MPAS (2014) mobile addiction questionnaire, Zadeh-Mohammadi's risky behaviors questionnaire (2008), and Zare and Aminpour's psychological security questionnaire (2011). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and canonical correlation tests.

The research findings showed a significant negative relationship between the components of mobile addiction and psychological security (p<0.05) and a significant positive relationship between the components of mobile addiction and risky behaviors (p<0.05). With knowledge of the canonical variable of mobile addiction, 64% of the variation in psychological security (p<0.05) and 66% of the variation in risky behaviors were predictable. Therefore, it can be concluded that the level of mobile addiction can predict the psychological security and risky behaviors of female students.

The results of this study indicate the importance of addressing mobile addiction among university students, especially women. By understanding the relationship between mobile addiction, psychological security, and risky behaviors, appropriate interventions can be implemented to promote healthy technology use and reduce the negative consequences of mobile addiction among university students.