Investigate the relationship between cell-phone over-use scale with depression, anxiety and stress among university students

Abstract Background Cell phones have increased dramatically as a new communication technology in the modern world. This study aimed to determine the relationship between cell phone over use scale with depression, anxiety and stress among university students in Khorramabad, Iran. Methods In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study, 212 students were randomly selected from the Lorestan University of Medical Sciences by a combination of stratified and clustered random sampling. Data were collected by two standard questionnaires including, Cell-phone Over-use Scale (COS) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21) and were analyzed using SPSS V.22. Results Based on the results, 72.2% of the students were exclusively male, which a majority of them were in age of 21–23 years (46.2%), and 92.5% were single. Based on the multiple linear regression and after adjustment for the confounding effect, there was a significant relationship between cell phone over use scale on student’s stress (t = 2.614, P = 0.010), and student’s anxiety (t = 2.209, P = 0.028); however there was not a significant relationship between cell phone over use scale on student’s depression (t = 1.790, P = 0.075). Conclusions Harmful use of cell phones can aggravate psychological disorders such as anxiety, stress and depression and by controlling this factor can increase the level of mental health and improve the quality of life in students. Trial registration Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. ID: IR.LUMS.REC.1397-1-99-1253.