Development of a Mobile Phone Addiction Craving Scale and Its Validation in a Spanish Adult Population

Bibliographic Data

ID15519480
AuthorsJosé De-Sola (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, corresponding author), Hernán Talledo Flores (0000-0002-4484-9845, University of the Pacific, corresponding author), Hernán Talledo, Gabriel Rubio (0000-0002-1171-1508, Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre, corresponding author), Fernando Rodrı́guez de Fonseca (0000-0002-4516-5795, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, corresponding author), Fernando Rodríguez de Fonseca
Year2017
Volume8
Pages90-90
Publication date2017-05-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00090
PMID28611692
OpenAlexW2617920177
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited57

In some people, problematic cell phone use can lead to situations in which they lose control, similar to those observed in other cases of addiction. Although different scales have been developed to assess its severity, we lack an instrument that is able to determine the desire or craving associated with it. Thus, with the objective of evaluating craving for cell phone use, in this study, we develop and present the Mobile Phone Addiction Craving Scale (MPACS). It consists of eight Likert-style items, with 10 response options, referring to possible situations in which the interviewee is asked to evaluate the degree of restlessness that he or she feels if the cell phone is unavailable at the moment. It can be self-administered or integrated in an interview when abuse or problems are suspected. With the existence of a single dimension, reflected in the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the scale presents adequate reliability and internal consistency (α = 0.919). Simultaneously, we are able to show significantly increased correlations ( r = 0.785, p = 0.000) with the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS) and state anxiety ( r = 0.330, p = 0.000). We are also able to find associations with impulsivity, measured using the urgency, premeditation, perseverance, and sensation seeking scale, particularly in the dimensions of negative urgency ( r = 0.303, p = 0.000) and positive urgency ( r = 0.290, p = 0.000), which confirms its construct validity. The analysis of these results conveys important discriminant validity among the MPPUS user categories that are obtained using the criteria by Chow et al. (1). The MPACS demonstrates higher levels of craving in persons up to 35 years of age, reversing with age. In contrast, we do not find significant differences among the sexes. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis allows us to establish the scores from which we are able to determine the different levels of craving, from the absence of craving to that referred to as addiction. Based on these results, we can conclude that this scale is a reliable tool that complements ongoing studies on problematic cell phone use

Addiction · Anxiety · Construct validity · Craving · Developmental psychology · Discriminant validity · Exploratory factor analysis · Impulsivity · Internal consistency · Intervention (counseling · Likert scale · Mobile phone · Personality · Phone · Population · Psychiatry · Psychoeducation · Psychometrics · Scale (ratio · Sensation Seeking · Validity · Child Development and Digital Technology · Clinical Psychology · Computer Science · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Medicine · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology