The Relationship Between Loneliness and Internet or Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and meta-Analysis

作者：Meng‐Wei Ge, Fei‐Hong Hu, Yi‐Jie Jia, Wen Tang, Wan‐Qing Zhang, Dan‐Yan Zhao, Wang‐Qin Shen, Hong‐Lin Chen · 发表于：Psychological Reports · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1177/00332941231180119 · 被引用次数：50 · 研究领域：Impact of Technology on Adolescents、COVID-19 and Mental Health、Digital Mental Health Interventions

Background: Loneliness is a common public health problem that influences people’s physical and mental health. There is a high incidence of loneliness in adolescents. Some research suggested that smartphone or Internet addiction (SA or IA) may be a factor. But the relationship between loneliness and SA or IA is not completely clear among adolescents. We aim to estimate the correlation coefficient r between them. Methods: Databases, consisting of PubMed and Web of Science, were retrieved systematically for studies of the association between adolescents’ loneliness and SA or IA. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was chosen as an assessment tool in this analysis. We estimated the correlation coefficient r between loneliness and SA or IA and drew a forest plot. Moreover, moderator analyses were also conducted to explore what leads to heterogeneity in our study. Results: 21 studies were finally included in our analysis with 27,843 samples. The pooled correlation coefficient r was 0.252 (95% confidence interval: [0.173, 0.329]; p < 0.001) with low heterogeneity (I 2 = 0.000%; Q = 23.616; p < 0.001), indicating a moderate positive association. The funnel plot indicated small publication bias. A one-study removal sensitivity analysis indicated there was no significant difference between these studies. Meta-regression indicated no significant difference between the results and age (Q = 11.94, df = 18, p = 0.8504). Conclusions: Our analysis indicated a moderate positive association betwe...