International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

author(s)
H Akhila, Dr. G Swarupa Rani, Dr. P Sreedevi, Dr. M Prasuna and B Gayatri

abstract
The study aimed to assess the relationship between smartphone addiction and behavior problems among upper primary school children. A total of 352 upper primary school children (176 boys and 176 girls) in the age group of 11-14 years from 8 private schools located under six zones in Hyderabad city of Telangana state were selected as sample through random sampling method. Out of 352 sample, 240 (120 boys and 120 girls) were selected for the study who had scored average to high on smartphone addiction scale. The data was collected by using smartphone addiction scale developed by Dr. Vijayshri and Dr. Masaud Ansari (2020) and revised behavioral problem scale by Quay and Peterson (1986). An exploratory research design was adopted for the study. The Smartphone addiction scale asses the children’s level of compulsion, forgetfulness, lack of attention, depression and anxiety, disturbed hunger and sleep, social withdrawal. Revised Behavioral problem scale assess conduct disorder, socialized aggression, attention problem, anxiety withdrawal and psychotic behavior. The SPSS 16.0 package program was used to analyze the data. After conducting correlational analysis using Karl pearson’s product-moment correlation between smartphone addiction and behavior problems, a significant and strong positive correlation (r=0.615**) was observed, which was found to be significant at 0.01 level of probability. It means that as smartphone addiction increased, the behavior problems among upper primary school children also increased. This implies that children who were overly reliant on their phones, missed their hobbies, sports, and social connections, and felt pressured to reply to messages, were more likely to exhibit aggressive, bullying, and distracted behaviors. Surprisingly, our findings support previous studies in the same area. The assumption that smartphone addiction plays a critical role in establishing behavior problems among upper primary school children is supported by the consistency of our findings across research.