Day 36 Assignment

Mobile Phone Addiction Scale

The worldwide primary personal communication mechanism “mobile phone’ is not only a
talking device on the move, but it is also emerging as necessary social accessory. The
mobile phone is relatively new technological tool, versatile and accessible, and very
attractive, especially for young people, but whose use involves a risk of abuse and addictive
behavior. The mobile phne usage is a compulsive and addictive disorder which looks set to
become one of the biggest non-drug addictions in the 21st century.

Mobile Phone Addiction Scale (MPAS):

The Mobile phone addiction scale is made by Dr. A. Velayudhan and Dr. S. Srividya. It is
based on the clinical criteria of substance dependence formulated by DSMIV TR. The scale
consists of 37 items and aids researchers, school/ college/adolescent counsellors in
examining the problematic usage of mobile phones, leading to poor mental health and
behavioral disturbances, problematic interpersonal relationship, social withdrawal and
clinically diagnosed psychological disturbances.
It has six dimensions: Maladaptive Usage, Self-Expression, Peer Relationship, Interpersonal
Relations, Impulsivity, Usage Time
It is a thirty seven item scale which is a five point Likertscale that ranges from
 strongly agree-5 point
 Agree-4 point
 Uncertain-3 point
 Disagree-2 point
 Strongly disagree-1 point
Only in case of 10, 11 & 26 the scale is reversed.

Reliability;
The test-retest method of estimating a test‘s reliability involves administering the test to the
same group of people at least twice. In order to assess the reliability of the scale, a retest of
the questionnaire was done on the same subjects after three weeks of the first survey and
the results were analysed to find the Cronbach‘s alpha coefficient. The alpha reliability of the
scale was found to be 0.79 and it is quite satisfactory. The split half reliability index was also
ascertained and it was found to be statistically significant at 0.75 over time.
Internal Consistency
Internal consistence is commonly measured as Cronbach‘s Alpha (based on inter-item
correlations). The Cronbach Alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89 which is quite
satisfactory.
Facto
r Name of the Subscale Item Numbers Reliability Index
1 Maladaptive usage 31, 33, 32, 30, 25, 28, 27, 13, 29 0.883
2 Self Expression 37, 36, 4, 7, 34, 35, 12, 5, 1 0.861
3 Peer relationship 14, 9, 20, 21, 15, 19 0.797
4 Interpersonal relations 17, 16, 3, 24 0.709
5 Impulsivity 22, 23, 6, 2 0.775
6 Usage time 26*, 18, 11* ,8, 10* 0.553
*- Reverse scoring
Validity:
The scale has very god face validity.
Criterion validity –
In a pilot study among postgraduate students (N=67, Male = 33, Females = 34, Mean age =
21), it was found that Mobile phone addiction was fund to be highly correlated with the
Shyness (r=0.21**) which suggests that excessive mobile phone usage may lead to social
anxiety and may lead to poor mental health. Similarly, the Mobile phone addiction scale was
also found to be significantly correlated with the Loneliness (r = 0.15**) which suggests that
Maladaptive / addictive mobile phone usage could tamper with the development of self
identity.
Norms
Low 25 High 76
Range Moderate
Number Percentile percentile
Sub Scale of Gender 26-75
of Items and and
Scores percentiles
below above
Male 9-20 21-29 30-45
Maladaptive usage 9 9-45
Female 9-15 16-23 24-45
Male 9-22 23-32 33-45
Self Expression 9 9-45
Female 9-19 20-28 29-45
Male 6-17 18-22 23-30
Peer relationship 6 6-30
Female 6-14 15-20 21-30
Male 4-12 13-16 17-20
Interpersonal relations 4 4-20
Female 4-9 10-15 16-20
Male 4-12 13-16 17-20
Impulsivity 4 4-20
Female 4-10 11-14 15-20
Male 5-12 13-17 18-25
Usage time 5 5-25
Female 5-11 12-15 16-25
Male 37-99 100-127 128-185
Scale as a whole 37 37-185
Female 37-85 86-108 109-185
Norms have been conceptualized for the scale as a whole as well as the six subscales
based on the sample of 243 college students both graduation and postgraduation (males N=
119, Females N= 124, Mean age =20 years). Besides, t-test among the males and females
found significant differences among them with men scoring more than women in all the six
subscales. Hence, the norms for the males and females differ. The scores have been
divided into three categories: Low, Moderate and High based on percentile divisions. The
present norms have been developed on the basis of students studying in an urban college
and hence future researchers are advised to reformulate norms based on their sample.
Cons–
 In present times of COVID-19 pandemic, almost all are staying home and working from
home. Mobile smart phones are part of daily office work. The scale does nt differentiate
between pleasure time and necessary time spent on mobile.
 Whatsapp and other social media applications have taken over mode of communication
like SMS, which still features in questions.
 Since technology is advancing very fast, this scale needs an update in terms of
questions to accommodate the latest developments in technology, billing, net speed and
in general necessity of mobile in modern life.
Pros –
The scale is very easy to administer.
 Questions are fairly easy to understand
 The outcome in six different areas is very helpful to see area affected.

Administered scale results –

Name- Sham Kumbhar, Gender – male, Age-48 yrs

Self Peer
Sub Maladaptiv Interperson Impulsivit Usage Scale as
Expressio relationshi
Scale e usage al relations y time a whole
n p

Scores 9 9 6 9 4 15 52
Moderat
Low Low
Otucom Low Low Low Low e
percentil percentil
e percentile percentile percentile percentile percentil
e e
e

The overall low percentile. Usage time is moderate which reflects usage of mobile for day to
day work during covid-19. Overall result, very low mobile usage and no addiction.