Smartphone and Iranian Women: Prevalence and Predictors of Problematic Smartphone Use

The increasing number of cellphone applications has enhanced the likelihood of Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU). The current cross-sectional and descriptive-correlation study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and predictors of PSU among women. The research society was all married women in West Azarbaijan and East Azarbaijan provinces in Iran. Of that, 452 women participated in the research through convenience and purposive sampling. Contingency tables, zero-order Pearson correlation, Chi-squared, Cramér's coefficients and a stepwise regression analysis were used to analyze the data. To collecting data Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire-Revised, Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, University of California Los Angeles Loneliness version III, and some demographic items were used. Results showed that more than half of the women used smartphones to communicate (besides talking) (57.2%), most frequently used WhatsApp (36.6%), Instagram (26.9%), and Telegram (21.6%). Furthermore, 37.8% of the participants used smartphones at a slightly problematic level, 10% at the problematic level, 3.5% at a very problematic level. Moreover, the regression analysis results also revealed that loneliness, marital satisfaction, and duration of marriage could significantly predict PSU. According to the finding’s, Iranian married women are less involved with PSU, however features such as loneliness, marital satisfaction, and years of marriage could explain individuals’ tendency to PSU. These factors are thus recommended to be considered in the prevention and treatment of PSU.