Investigation of correlated internet and smartphone addiction in adolescents: Copula regression analysis

Internet and smartphone addiction have become important social issues. Various studies have demonstrated their association with clinical and psychological factors, including depression, anxiety, aggression, anger expression, and behavioral inhibition, and behavioral activation systems. However, these two addictions are also highly correlated with each other, so the consideration of the relationship between internet and smartphone addiction can enhance the analysis. In this study, we considered the copula regression model to regress the bivariate addictions on clinical and psychological factors. Real data analysis with 555 students (age range: 14–15 years; males, N = 295; females, N = 265) from South Korean public middle schools is illustrated. By fitting the copula regression model, we investigated the dependency between internet and smartphone addiction and determined the risk factors associated with the two addictions. Furthermore, by comparing the model fits of the copula model with linear regression and generalized linear models, the best copula model was proposed in terms of goodness of fit. Our findings revealed that internet and smartphone addiction are not separate problems, and that associations between them should be considered. Psychological factors, such as anxiety, the behavioral inhibition system, and aggression were also significantly associated with both addictions, while ADHD symptoms were related to internet addiction only. We emphasize the need to establish policies on the prevention, management, and education of addiction.