Zweden: Gecombineerd gebruik van ICT en mobiele telefonie gevaar voor psychische gezondheid.

ICT use and mental health in young adults

Effects of computer and mobile phone use on stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression

Sara Thomée

Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine,
University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract
The overall aim of this thesis was to explore possible associations between information and
communication technology (ICT) use and mental health symptoms among young adults. By
“ICT” in this context is meant mainly computer and mobile phone use. The thesis contains three
longitudinal cohort studies using self-report questionnaires and one qualitative interview study.

Study I was performed in a cohort of medical and computer science students (19–25 years old,
n=1127). Prospective associations were found between ICT use at baseline and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression at 1 year follow-up. Study II explored possible explanations
for the associations between ICT and mental health symptoms by means of qualitative interviews
with 32 high ICT users (20–28 years old). The concepts and ideas of the young adults
generated a model showing several possible paths for associations between ICT exposure and
mental health symptoms. In studies III and IV, parts of this model were tested in a populationbased
cohort of young adults (20–24 years old, n=4163). In Study III, a high frequency of mobile
phone use at baseline was a risk factor for reporting sleep disturbances in the men and symptoms of depression in both sexes at 1 year follow-up.

The risk for reporting mental health symptoms at follow-up was greatest among those who reported that they perceived accessibility via mobile
phones as stressful. In Study IV, duration of computer use was prospectively associated with
sleep disturbances in the men while for the women often using the computer without breaks was a
prospective risk factor for stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression, at follow-up.
High duration of emailing and chatting at leisure was a risk factor for sleep disturbances in the
men and for most mental health outcomes in the women. Daily computer gaming for 1–2 hours
was associated with an increased risk for symptoms of depression in the women.

Often using the computer late at night and consequently losing sleep was associated with several mental health
outcomes in both sexes. These findings suggest that sleep is an important mediating factor to focus
on in future studies. Public health prevention strategies aimed at young adults could include
information and advice about healthy ICT use, for example, advice about the importance of taking
breaks and ensuring recovery when using e.g., computers intensively, and advice to set limits
for own (and others) accessibility.

In conclusion, the main findings in the thesis suggest that intensive ICT use can have an impact
on mental health in young adults. Frequent mobile phone use was a prospective risk factor for
reporting sleep disturbances in the men and symptoms of depression in both sexes. Intensive
computer use (“intensive” in terms of duration of use or continuous use without breaks) was a
prospective risk factor for reporting sleep disturbances in the men and stress, sleep disturbances,
and symptoms of depression in the women.Combined intensive computer and mobile phone use
enhanced associations with mental health symptoms.

Voor de volledige studie (88 pp) zie: gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/28245/1/gupea_2077_28245_1.pdf .

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