Smartphone Addiction and Its Effects on Sophomore College Students’ Grade Point Averages

PURPOSE: Although smartphone use is rapidly increasing across the globe, there is limited research on the impact of smartphone addiction on academic performance. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are more likely to be affected by smartphone addiction due to increased smartphone use and reliance; therefore more exploration of this topic is warranted. Researchers hypothesized smartphone addiction may lead to poor academic performance among first-year college students who are vulnerable to the stressors associated with the transition to higher education. The variables being measured in this study are smartphone addiction, as measured by the Smartphone Addiction Inventory and academic performance, as measured by grade point average (GPA). Within the field of occupational therapy, it is necessary to understand how smartphone addiction can impact various occupations. DESIGN: The study followed a naturalistic correlational quantitative approach to determine the association between smartphone addiction and academic performance. Convenience sampling was utilized through a mass email to target all sophomore students of Dominican College. Participants were included in the study if they attended Dominican their freshman year. The Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) was utilized to measure the severity of participants smartphone use. Academic performance was measured by the sophomore student's grade point averages (GPA). The Spearman's Rho was used to measure the correlation between the independent variable of overall SPAI score and the dependent variable of the subject's GPA. The relationship between each of the four components of smartphone addiction (Tolerance, Compulsive Behavior, Withdrawal, Functional Impairment) and the subject's GPA was also measured. RESULTS: The average total SPAI scores were correlated using a Spearman Rho to the GPA of each participant. While there was a weak negative relationship, it was not statistically significant (rho (63)= -.020, p>.05). No significant correlations were found when correlating overall GPA to tolerance (rho (63)= -.168, p >.05), compulsive behavior (rho (63)= -.071, p >.05), functional impairment (rho (63)= -.019, p >.05), and withdrawal (rho (63)= -.027, p >.05). This suggests that though there is no significant correlation, a slight negative correlation between smartphone addiction and academic performance was found. However, upon post hoc analysis using a one-tailed Mann-Whitney U comparing the GPA of the s