Smartphone Distraction: Italian Validation of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

Maria Lidia Mascia (), Mirian Agus, Łukasz Tomczyk, Natale Salvatore Bonfiglio, Diego Bellini and Maria Pietronilla Penna
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Maria Lidia Mascia: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Mirian Agus: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Łukasz Tomczyk: Institute of Education, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
Natale Salvatore Bonfiglio: Unit of Statistics, IRCCS, Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli of Brescia, 25125 Brescia, Italy
Diego Bellini: Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Maria Pietronilla Penna: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: This work aimed to validate the use of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) in Italy. The SDS was devised to assess distraction related to smartphone use in adult populations. A cross-sectional study was conducted among n = 609 adults (females = 76.4%; mean age = 30.26; SD age = 9.90). An assessment of the factorial structure of the Italian version was carried out using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The four factors identified by Throuvala and colleagues were confirmed (i.e., attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, multitasking and emotion regulation). Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.703–0.889). The scale’s scores showed significant linear correlations with validated instruments, including the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS)and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). A multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the means among participants belonging to different age groups (born before 1995 vs. born after 1996). In summary, the good psychometric properties observed led us to assume that this instrument can be applied and used in Italian studies to assess the cognitive dimension of distraction related to the use of smartphones.

Keywords: smartphone distraction; smartphone problematic use; online vigilance; attention impulsiveness; multitasking; emotion regulation; cognitive failures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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