Assessing the smartphone addiction risk and its associations with personality traits among adolescents

The ownership of smartphones has become usual, research showing associations between smartphone usage, addiction, and the users' individual characteristics. Our first objective is to examine the short form of Smartphone Addiction Scale. We also aimed to examine the relationships between smartphone addiction and the use of various smartphone applications. The findings show that the Smartphone Addiction Scale has good psychometric qualities. The number of hours spent using the smartphone, its general use, the positive attitudes towards it and the anxiety without technology mediate the relation between personality traits and the risk for addiction. Neuroticism, openness and conscientiousness predict the risk for smartphone addiction negatively. Although the present research is conducted in a new cultural context, the findings confirm several privious studies. The usefulness of technology cannot be challenged, but we believe it is necessary to pay more attention to the young people in lower educational cycles to prevent the excessive use of smartphones. •Smartphone Addiction Scale has good psychometric qualities.•Associations between smartphone users' characteristics and addiction are analysed.•Personality traits predict the smartphone risk addiction•Number of hours spent using the smartphone explain the smartphone addiction.