Effects of Smartphone on General Health and Personality Traits of Medical Students

This research article analyzes the effects of smartphones on the general health and personality traits of medical students. Possible hypotheses, research design, and critical appraisal of the article are discussed.

[1]
Foundations of Biostatistics &
Epidemiology
Second assessment Part B

[2]
Section 1
ANS:
In the current research article, the effects of smartphone on general health and personality traits of
medical students were analyzed. Based on the scope and conceptual framework of the article, possible
hypotheses could be framed as,
I. Smartphone dependency and agreeableness (personality trait) were significantly correlated for
an individual (male or female).
II. Smartphone dependency and somatic symptoms (general health) were significantly correlated.
ANS:
The present research could be designed based on prospective cohort model of survey and
collection of data to identify the possibility of mood change, social obligations and other external
factors of the respondents. The sampling procedure would identify the respondents with and without
the presence of smartphone dependence, and then evaluate the comparative analysis of personality
traits. The study would be conducted with the help of questionnaire survey method for a period of 4
weeks. The longitudinal effect would help immensely in identifying the singularities and reduces
these random effects of the respondents. After collecting information from 400 respondents (large
enough for effect size), the descriptive and inferential analyses would be performed to establish the
relationship between the variables.
The four groups of the study (gender specific) would be (experimental group) smartphone
dependent individuals with significant agreeableness, smartphone dependent individuals without
significant agreeableness and (control group) smartphone independent individuals with significant
agreeableness, and smartphone independent individuals without significant agreeableness.

[3]
ANS:
The present research could also be designed based on the case-control model of the survey.
The sampling procedure would identify the difference in personality traits scores of respondents, and
then assess the comparative analysis of smartphone dependency based on gender. The study would
be conducted with the help of questionnaire survey method focusing on the Big 5 personality score.
The observational study effect would help immensely in identifying the respondents based on their
extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, and emotional instability.
The four groups of the study (gender specific) would be (experimental group) individuals of
high agreeableness with smartphone dependence, individuals of high agreeableness without
smartphone dependence and (control group) individuals with low agreeableness with smartphone
dependence, and individuals with low agreeableness without smartphone dependence.
.
ANS:
The findings in the research were not considered as significant due to the high significance
level. Considering that the p-values of the correlations were greater than the value of alpha (
) at 5% level of significance, the findings were not considered as significant.
Wakayama Smartphone-Dependence (WSD) sub scales were compared for the two genders.
Difference of scores on subscale 1 for males (M = 5.2, SD = 3.1) and females (M = 4.9, SD = 2.9)
was not found to be statistically significant as p = 0.52 at 5% level of significance. Similarly,
difference of scores on subscale 2 for males (M = 9.7, SD = 3.8) and females (M = 11.0, SD = 4.0)
was not found to be statistically significant as p = 0.07 at 5% level of significance. Difference of
scores on subscale 3 for males (M = 13.2, SD = 8.6)and females (M = 13.8, SD = 3.7) was also not
found to be statistically significant due to p = 0.36, and difference of scores on WSD scale for males
(M = 28.2, SD = 8.6)and females (M = 29.7, SD = 8.4) was not found to be statistically significant
as p = 0.32 at 5% level of significance.

[4]
ANS:
Spearman’s correlation was used to measure the association of WSD subscale variables and
general health attributes.
Pearson's correlation is used to find a correlation between two continuous normal variables.
The responses were collected from the respondents about their smartphone dependence on a Likert
scale. Responses for GHQ-28 subscale were found to be not normal. Likert scale is ranked values
instead of continuous data. Spearman's correlation was used for measuring the association of the
ranked WSDS data with not normal GHQ-28 data, instead of Pearson’s correlation.
ANS:
Correlation between smartphone dependence and personality traits was evaluated by Pearson's
correlation coefficient. The study was done separately for the two genders. Men who were greatly
dependent on their smartphones were found to be adverse on agreeableness. Correlations of
agreeableness with WSDS 1 (r = -0.26, p < 0.05) and WSDS 2 (r = -0.41, p < 0.01), and WSDS 3 (r
= -0.39, p < 0.01) were found to be statistically significant. A significant positive correlation was
observed for WSDS 2 and emotional instability (r = 0.24, p < 0.05) at 5% level of significance. No
other significant correlation values were observed for smartphone dependence and personality traits
for men. Social involvement of men, responsiveness, and perception about society was not related
significantly with smartphone dependence. Hence, it could be concluded that the personality traits of
men, other than the ability to agree to different social conditions, were not related to smartphone
usage. It could also be inferred that smartphone dependence was making men irritated enough to
agree on various issues. For females, significant correlation was observed for WSDS 3 and
extraversion (r = 0.37, p < 0.01) at 15 level of significance. No other significant correlations were
present for females. Females were found to be totally independent of the effects of phone usage and
dependence. In some instances, social involvement was positively affected by cell phone use
(WSDS3). Probably, respondent females had very strong characters to get affected by the different
smartphone usage problems.

[5]
ANS:
Pearson’s correlation value for the linear association between Extraversion and dependency
on Smartphone (WSDS 3) for men was r = 0.18 in a positive direction.
For men, use of Smartphone while doing something else and neglecting etiquette was noted to
have a low positive correlation (r = 0.18) with extraversion quality. The correlation between the
variables was statistically not significant, which implied that the correlation value might have been
due to the influence of some other external factor or might have happened purely by chance. Enough
statistical evidence was not found for a considerable correlation between WSDS 3 and extraversion
of men. From a realistic point of view, quality of enjoying the presence of people in a social
gathering or getting importance from people (extraversion), do not go with the image of use of
Smartphone while doing something else and neglecting etiquette. Hence, the correlation value of r =
0.18 was also not practically significant, and the direction (positive) of the correlation was also not
acceptable.
ANS:
The value of Pearson’s correlation between conscientiousness and WSDS 2 of females was r =
-0.14. The low and negative correlation between the variables was statistically not significant, which
indicated that the value of the correlation coefficient might have been due to the influence of some
other external factor. Enough statistical evidence was not found for a significant correlation between
WSDS 2 and conscientiousness of females. From a realistic point of view, awareness about the
surroundings or responsiveness of an individual is not compatible with the practice of using the
smartphone for extended periods of time and neglecting social obligations. Hence, the correlation
value of r = - 0.14 was also not practically significant, though the negative sign of the correlation
was acceptable considering the characteristics of the two attributes.

[6]
ANS: Critical appraisal of the present article has been presented as follows.
The researcher, in the existing article investigated the relationship between dependence on
Smartphone and personality qualities, and health conditions. The study was confined within the
medical students of the university, which indicated that the responses were collected with a
convenience sampling method. The selection of the particular sampling methodology produced
biasness in the sample data. Adoption of the longitudinal survey could have eliminated the inherent
errors of the sample. Effect of unusual conditions, such as the depressive mental status of the
respondent, the distance of workplace from home, special medical conditions would have been
eliminated from the sample. Though the study maintained the ethical protocol of the university, the
exclusion criteria for the article (out of 184 responses, inferential analyses were performed for only
140 students) have not been specified by the scholar. Age distribution of males (N = 87, M = 21.2,
SD = 2.1) and females (N = 53, M = 20.8, SD = 1.6) in the sample was noted as achieve of
convenience sampling. The study was confined within the periphery of the university, and this
reduced the generality of the study. This cross-sectional study yielded difference in use of
Smartphone for the males (M = 170.4, SD = 113.5) and females (M = 130.5, SD = 99.1) as significant
(t = 2.07, p < 0.05) factor. The effect size of the sample of 140 respondents was found from the daily
Smartphone usage and was found to have a small effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.37) for the cross-
sectional study.
Normality of the three scales WSDS (Wakayama Smartphone- Dependence Scale), GHQ – 28
(general health status), and TIPI (10-item Personality Inventory) was confirmed from the
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. For normally distributed TIPI scale, Pearson’s correlation was used;
otherwise for GHQ – 28 nonparametric Spearman's correlation test was performed. Though the
research hypotheses were not detailed, the inferential analyses were based on scrutinizing the
correlation between the three scales and their subscales. The correlation tests were performed in
accordance to the satisfaction of the assumptions.

[7]
No statistical significance was found in the gender wise cross-sectional analysis for the WSDS
scale (Male: M = 28.2, SD = 8.6, Female: M = 29.7, SD = 8.4, p = 0.32) for the present sample data.
Convenience sampling could have been the reason for the result. Correlation of usage of Smartphone
for extended periods of time (WSDS 2) was found to have a statistically significant correlation (
) with anxiety about the physical condition (SSD) for men. Similar paradigm was
visible for females ( ) at 5% level of significance. For females, correlation of
WSDS 2 with depression ( ), and WSDS 3 with social dysfunctional (
) was also statistically significant. The results were in line with previous works
of literature and were practically significant in nature. Men’s addiction to internet surfing (WSDS 1)
(r = −0.26, p < 0.05), WSDS 2 (r = −0.41, p < 0.01), and WSDS 3 (r = −0.39, p < 0.01) was found to
have statistically significant relation with agreeableness quality. For females, WSDS 2 had significant
relation with somatic symptoms (r = 0.39, p < 0.01).
Effect of Smartphone dependence was established to have the expected effect on various
personality traits. The gender difference in this cohort analysis was in parity with earlier research
works. The sample data justified the conclusions made by the scholar about the association of the
scales.
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