An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study to Determine the Association between Personality Profile and Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among Students Ranging From 16-20 Years

Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the problematic mobile usage among students aged between 16 to 20 years using Problematic Use of Mobile Phones (PUMP) Scale and to assess the association between personality profile and mobile phone usage pattern among the study population. Materials and methods: 434 subjects aged 16 – 20 years from medical, dental and nursing streams who owned or used cell phone more than one year were recruited by random sampling with probability proportionate to their size (PPS) after explaining the nature of the study. The sample size was calculated using the formula 4pq/z2 used for prevalence studies. A total of 434 questionnaires were collected.  The study tools included Semi structured proforma, Problematic mobile phone usage scale and Short form of revised eyesenk personality questionnaire. Results: The data analysis showed that the mean total pump score was 113.78 ± 14.17 in the study population. Range between was 60 to 154 (95% CI 112.41 to 115.15). The mean extraversion scale was 7.83 ± 2.12 ranging from 0 to 12 (95% CI 7.63 to 8.04). The mean neuroticism scale was 5.75 ± 3.11 ranging from 0 to 12 (95% CI 5.45 to 6.05). The mean lie scale was 6.52 ± 2.24 ranging from 0 to 11 (95% CI 6.30 to 6.73). The mean psychoticism scale was 6.94 ± 1.83 ranging from 0 to 11 (95% CI 6.77 to 7.12). 98 (23.80%) participants were introverts and remaining 314 (76.20%) participants were extraverts. 248(60.20%) participants had stable and remaining 164 (39.80%) participants were found to be neurotic. 63 (15.30%) participants were introvert & stable, 35 (8.50%) participants were introvert & neurotic, 184 (44.70%) participants were extravert & stable and 130 (31.60%) participants were extravert & neurotic. Conclusion: Our study may contribute to the association of Smartphone usage and its effects on psychological wellbeing. Mobile phone addiction is resistant to treatment and has significant risks and high relapse rates. So such studies like ours will be useful for psychiatrists, psychologists, family care physicians and other medical fraternity in setting boundaries and detecting early warning signs of underlying psychopathology at the earliest. There is not much research done related to this particular topic, DSM 5 or ICD 10 doesn’t categorize smart phone addiction so such similar studies in future may help in classifying them. This study aims to raise awareness among individuals so that proper intervention can be done and problematic usage of mobile phones can be reduced.