Abstract

In recent years, smartphone addiction has attracted increasing attention from researchers in the behavioural sciences. Numerous studies conducted in various countries, including Romania, have focused on its specific manifestations, predictors, and consequences among children, adolescents, and adults. The correlational study presented here, conducted on a sample of 196 Romanian university students, aimed to identify the predictors of smartphone addiction in relation to five variables: anxiety, depression, and psychological stress (as indicators of emotional well-being), problematic video game use, and Facebook addiction. Four working hypotheses were tested. Comparative data did not reveal statistically significant differences in smartphone addiction according to gender, academic major, or year of study. Models tested using multiple linear regression analysis identified age, Facebook addiction, anxiety, depression, and psychological stress as predictors of smartphone addiction. The findings provided support for three of the working hypotheses. The results are discussed with regard to their practical implications.

Keywords: Anxiety; smartphone addiction; correlational study; depression; Facebook addiction; problematic video game use; psychological stress