Smartphone Addiction, Loneliness, and Social Support: Interconnections among College Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The primary objective of this investigation was to explore the interrelations among smartphone addiction, loneliness, and perceived social support within the context of collegiate populations. Employing a cross-sectional methodology, the study sampled first- and second-year students from a variety of educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. A cohort of 199 college students, encompassing both genders and hailing from diverse academic establishments in KP, Pakistan, constituted the study's participants. Measurement of the research constructs was achieved through the administration of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Analytical procedures included descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and the utilization of SPSS version 25 for data analysis. Additionally, the exploration of gender-based differences in loneliness was conducted via an independent sample t-test. The outcomes indicated a significant positive correlation between loneliness and smartphone addiction, while a negative correlation was observed between smartphone addiction and perceived social support. Furthermore, the findings unveiled significant gender differences in the loneliness measure, with female participants exhibiting higher scores compared to their male counterparts.