Validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version for university students and adult population

Abstract This study sought evidence of the validity of the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version for a Brazilian sample of 718 individuals, amongst university students (n = 387, M age = 22.1 years) and adults (n = 331, M age = 35.2 years), who completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the scale. The transcultural adaptation was carried out using specific protocols as recommended by expert’s committees. The factorial structure was evaluated by three methods: Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, and Network Analysis. The adjustment parameters were not adequate and Principal Component Analysis explained 39.2% of the variance. The scale showed good reliability (α = 0.81) and a 39.4% prevalence of problematic phone use. The Network Analysis indicated that the correlations between the items were similar in the two populations. This is an unpublished study evaluating the usage pattern of smartphones in a sample of the adult population from all Brazilian states.