Are vulnerable adolescents more prone to smartphone and Internet addiction? A cross-sectional study among adolescents in Switzerland

In this study, we wanted to assess the association between the level of vulnerability and two behavioural addictions - smartphone and Internet addictive use. Data were drawn from an online in-school survey on screen use carried out among 10th graders (aged 13-14 years) in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland) from November 2019 to February 2020. The analytic sample included 2893 adolescents (50.1% males), with a mean age of 13.1 years. We defined adolescent's vulnerability based on the following social determinants of health: family socioeconomic status, relationship with parents and academic performance. We categorized participants into three groups depending on their level of vulnerability: Not Vulnerable, Moderately Vulnerable and Highly Vulnerable. Then, we conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses to compare them in terms of SA and IA while considering other explanatory factors including gender, age, residence area, place of birth, educational track, family structure, emotional well-being, being overweight, physical activity, problems with sleep, screen time and parental rules regarding screens and Internet use. We found that almost 28% of adolescents were identified with some degree of vulnerability. Our results showed that adolescents in the Moderately and Highly Vulnerable groups are more likely to develop SA and IA with increased rates observed in the Highly Vulnerable adolescents in the bivariate model. However, in the multivariate model, this relationship only remained significant for the Moderately Vulnerable group. Our findings further suggest that there are other factors significantly associated with vulnerability including age and gender. Given our overall results, it is important to acknowledge that even developed countries contend with the problem of vulnerability among adolescents. A better understanding of this subject, as well as possible consequences and appreciation of the factors defining vulnerability, is needed if inequities are to be addressed.