Journal of International Psychiatry

[Abstract] Objective To explore the correlation between adolescent depression and Internet addiction and cell phone dependence. Methods Forty-seven cases of adolescents with depression admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to October 2022 were included and set up as an observation group. Forty-seven age- and gender-matched adolescents with non-depressive symptoms were selected and set up as the control group. The general information of the adolescents in the two groups as well as the Short Version Smartphone Addiction Scale (SV) and Youngs Internet Addiction Diagnostic Scale (YDQ) were compared. The correlation between the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9) scores and SV scores and YDQ scores in the observation group was analyzed. Results The differences between the two groups in the highest parental education, whether they lived in school, and primary caregiver were statistically significant (P<0.05). The differences between the two groups in terms of school section, age, and gender were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The SV score and YDQ score of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between PHQ-9 scores and SV scores and YDQ scores in the observation group (P<0.05). Conclusion Adolescents with depression have more severe Internet addiction and cell phone dependence, and their Internet and cell phone use should be controlled to improve their mental health level.

Key words Adolescents; Depression; Internet Addiction; Mobile Phone Dependence