Translation of the short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale into Brazilian Portuguese: cross-cultural adaptation and testing of measurement properties

Abstract

Background: Smartphone use has been constantly increasing. Smartphone addiction can lead to changes in the emotional state and musculoskeletal system of users. To identify smartphone addicts, the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version was developed; however, this scale has not been translated into Brazilian Portuguese and tested for its measurement properties.

Objective: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version into Brazilian Portuguese; to assess the internal consistency, reliability and construct validity of the scale among university students.

Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation was performed following the guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures, and data were collected via online surveys administered to 59 university students over 18 years of age for test-retest. To test the measurement properties of the final version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, a convenience sample including 130 university students was used.

Results: The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version showed good reliability for test-retest scores (ICC_3,1=0.82; 95% CI=0.70-0.89) and good internal consistency considering all 10 items (Cronbach's alpha=0.95). The construct validity was calculated comparing the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version score to data from a questionnaire prepared by the authors of this study, including frequency per day (r=0.35; p<0.001), leisure time on the smartphone (r=0.33; p<0.001), and time working on the smartphone (r=0.18; p=0.04) that were significantly positively associated with higher Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version scores. The results show a high prevalence of smartphone addiction among university students (33.1%).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version is a reliable and valid tool for screening smartphone addiction in university students.

Keywords: Cell phone; Cross-cultural; Mobile phone; Physical therapy; Translation.