Abstract
Objectives: This descriptive study was aimed to investigate the related factors of smartphone addiction among preschool children. Methods: The subject of study was 186 smartphone using mothers with children between 3 to 6 years old in Busan. Data were collected with self-administered questionnaires from July to November, 2013 at nurseries, preschools, and cultural center. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t test, ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: 79.6% of children have ever used smartphone and mean smartphone addiction of them were 26.77 based on 60 points. The related factors of smartphone addiction among children were the children's smartphone usage time per day (less than 0.5 hours vs 0.5-0.9 hours (p=0.004), less than 0.5 hours vs more than 1.0 hours (p<0.001), mother's smartphone addiction (p<0.001), and perceived mother's permission level compared to other children's mothers (p=0.004), which 3 factors explained 39% of variance of smartphone addiction of children. Conclusions: Considering the related factors of smartphone addiction among preschool children, mothers should recognize the importance of the their use smartphone and attitude toward smartphone use of children, and take measure to limit children's excessive use of smartphone.
