Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Jul 2023)
Depressive and Anxious Symptoms Increase with Problematic Technologies Use Among Adults: The Effects of Personal Factors Related to Health Behavior
Abstract
Fátima Méndez-López,1,2 Bárbara Oliván-Blázquez,1– 3 Marta Domínguez García,1,2,4 Yolanda López-Del-Hoyo,2,3,5 Olaya Tamayo-Morales,2,6 Rosa Magallón-Botaya1,2,7 1Primary Care Research Unit (GAIAP), Health Research Institute of Aragon (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain; 2Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Health Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; 3Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain; 4Aragonese Healthcare Service (SALUD), Zaragoza, Spain; 5Mental Health Research in Primary Care Unit, Health Research Institute of Aragon (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain; 6Primary Care Research Unit of Salamanca (APISAL), Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), Salamanca, Spain; 7Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, SpainCorrespondence: Bárbara Oliván-Blázquez, Primary care research unit, Health Research Institute of Aragon, 13 San Juan Bosco AVE FL 0, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain, Tel +34 976 50 65 78, Email [email protected]: Depression and anxiety disorders are a significant and growing health problem that has a significant impact on psychosocial functioning and quality of life. The onset and severity of mental health problems have been related to various biological, psychosocial, and behavioral variables.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the association among the severity of depression and anxiety, problematic information and communications technology (ICT) use, and some related personal factors with health behavior among adults. It also analyzes the moderating role of personal factors in the relationship between the problematic use of ICT and anxiety and depression.Patients and Methods: Descriptive, bivariate, multivariate and moderation analyzes of data from 391 participants of 35– 74 years old in primary health care centers located in Aragón (Spain) were performed between July 2021 and July 2022. The primary outcome was the severity of depressive and anxious symptoms as continuous variable.Results: Low sense of coherence (β = − 0.058; p = 0.043), low self-esteem (β = − 0.171; p=0.002), and low self-efficacy (β = − 0.122; p= 0.001), are predictors of having more severe depressive symptoms. Furthermore, low self-esteem (β = − 0.120; p= 0.012), low self-efficacy (β = − 0.092; p=0.004), and high problematic use of ICT (β = 0.169; p = 0.001), are predictors of having more severe anxiety symptoms. Moderation analyzes were significant in the effect of self-efficacy (b = − 0.040, p=0.001) and resilience (b = − 0.024, p=0.033) on the relationship between problematic ICT use and anxiety.Conclusion: The problematic use of ICT and personal factors are related to depressive and anxiety symptoms. The interrelationship between problematic ICT use, personal factors, and depression needs to be further explored.Keywords: depression, anxiety, problematic information and communication technologies use, technology addiction, personal health factors
