Technology Addiction and Social Connectedness in Psychiatric Illness: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: Technology addiction is an increasingly important public health problem all over the world that negatively affects people's mental and physical health. In this study, we examined technology addiction and social connectedness levels of psychiatric patients who admitted to clinics in different geographical regions of Turkey.

Methods: A total of 642 people with a diagnosis of psychiatric illness who applied to psychiatry clinics in İstanbul, Elaziğ, Malatya, Yozgat, Adıyaman, and Bingöl provinces were included. Sociodemographic data form, Technology Addiction Scale (TAS), and Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) were applied to all participants.

Results: The total score of the TAS in patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder and somatoform disorder was significantly higher than the other patient groups (p<0.001). Patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder showed a significant difference from other patient groups in terms of SCS score (p<0.001). Anxiety disorder was found to be the highest in TAS total score and sub-dimensions and the lowest in SCS score, while major depressive disorder was found to be the lowest in TAS total score and sub-dimensions and the highest in SCS score. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the total score of the TAS was predicted by the SCS score (β=-1.857, p<0.001) and the SCS score was predicted by age (β=0.046, p=0.049) and the total score of the TAS (β=-0.316, p<0.001).

Conclusion: As a result of this study, we can say that psychiatric patients have a moderate level of technology addiction, these people have high levels of social connectedness, and psychiatric patients with technology addiction have a high level of social belonging.