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Problematic mobile phone use : an investigation into the Singaporean youth athlete population
Author
Ong, Nathanael Chong Hao
Supervisor
Kee, Ying Hwa
Abstract
With the rise of mobile phone technology, problematic mobile phone use is an increasingly important field of study in the current age. One demographic group that has yet to be investigated is the youth athlete population. This is significant as youths are the demographic group which are most susceptible to problematic mobile phone use, and problematic use can have negative effects on various areas of youth athletes’ sporting and non-sporting lives. As such, the current thesis sought to address the gap in existing literature and investigate problematic mobile phone use among the Singaporean youth athlete population. Due to the relative novelty of the topic area, the thesis sought to ascertain the prevalence of problematic mobile phone use among the Singaporean youth athlete population, adopt an exploratory approach to investigate various issues surrounding problematic use among Singaporean youth athletes, and utilise that knowledge to create a custom intervention to help youth athletes address their problematic use. As such, the thesis aimed to address the following research questions - RQ1: What is the prevalence of problematic mobile phone use among youth athletes, and what are the factors which contribute to problematic use in youth athletes? RQ2: What are the effects of problematic mobile phone use in youth athletes? RQ3: What suggestions do youth athletes have for their counterparts to address their problematic mobile phone use? RQ4: Is a custom intervention programme effective in helping youth athletes address their problematic mobile phone use?
Study 1 sought to provide a broad exploration of problematic mobile phone use within the youth athlete population using a structural topic modelling approach. In particular, the study aimed to investigate the prevalence of problematic mobile phone use among the youth athlete population and the factors which contributed to problematic use (RQ1); as well as the effects of problematic use (RQ2). A large sample of 369 Singaporean athletes (aged between 12 to 19 years old) were recruited for the study, and structural topic modelling was used to analyse the large corpus of open-ended responses. The analytical process generated a list of topics, and subsequent interpretation was done to label the topics and group them into higher thematic categories. The topics that were generated by the topic modelling analysis were analysed using follow-up covariate analyses to identify if the topic prominence varied according to any of the covariates. The prevalence of problematic mobile phone use in the sampled population was 40.65%. For factors, the higher thematic categories were habitual/compulsive use, accessibility/utility, alleviation of boredom/moods, lack of control, coping with school/work, entertainment, and communication. For effects, the higher thematic categories were time wastage/insufficient time, distraction/loss of focus, sleep/tiredness, sport-related areas, and addiction.
Study 2 sought to complement the broad exploration conducted in Study 1 by providing a more in-depth investigation using focus groups. The study aimed to explore the factors which contributed to problematic mobile phone use (RQ1), the effects of problematic use (RQ2), and the suggestions to help youth athletes address their problematic use (RQ3). The study utilised a purposive sample of 21 Singaporean youth athletes (aged 12-18 years old) from four different sports. Four focus group sessions were conducted, and each session sought to elicit rich detail about participants’ experiences of problematic mobile phone use. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and various themes pertaining to problematic mobile phone use emerged from the analysis. The analysis revealed various factors which contributed to problematic use, namely personal attributes, needs fulfilment, and external influences. Effects of problematic use included areas such as shrinkage of time, performance deficits, and undesirable behaviours. There were various suggestions on how to overcome problematic use, which included strengthening internal resources and tapping into external sources of help.
Study 3 sought to utilise the findings from Study 1 and 2 to create a custom intervention programme, informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to help youth athletes address their problematic mobile phone use. The study aimed to answer RQ4, which sought to evaluate whether a custom intervention programme was effective in helping youth athletes address their problematic mobile phone use. The study employed a hybrid mixed-methods design, involving a one-group pretest-posttest design, followed by a multiple case study design. 23 Singaporean youth athletes (aged 13-19 years) went through the intervention programme, and were assessed at pre, post, and follow-up timepoints for their objective and subjective measures of mobile phone use. After the intervention programme had concluded, a smaller sample of eight participants were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews to get their views and feedback on the intervention programme. The results showed that while there were no significant differences in the objective measures of mobile phone use (i.e., duration and frequency) between the timepoints, there was a significant reduction in the subjective measure (i.e., SAS-SV) of problematic mobile phone use in both post and follow-up timepoints. This was supported by the multiple case study analysis, which found that participants were able to implement the various strategies that were covered during the intervention programme, and that those strategies were able to help them reduce their level of problematic mobile phone use. Overall, participant feedback for the intervention programme was positive, with participants stating that it was fun, interactive, relatable, and informative. There were still some barriers that prevented participants from reducing their problematic mobile phone use, and suggestions were given on how to improve the intervention programme.
In conclusion, the current thesis helped to enhance understanding of problematic mobile phone use among the Singaporean youth athlete population. A custom intervention programme was created, which could prove to be a useful tool for sport psychology consultants, schools, coaches, and parents to use with youth athletes who might be struggling with problematic mobile phone use. The various limitations and areas for future research were also discussed.
Study 1 sought to provide a broad exploration of problematic mobile phone use within the youth athlete population using a structural topic modelling approach. In particular, the study aimed to investigate the prevalence of problematic mobile phone use among the youth athlete population and the factors which contributed to problematic use (RQ1); as well as the effects of problematic use (RQ2). A large sample of 369 Singaporean athletes (aged between 12 to 19 years old) were recruited for the study, and structural topic modelling was used to analyse the large corpus of open-ended responses. The analytical process generated a list of topics, and subsequent interpretation was done to label the topics and group them into higher thematic categories. The topics that were generated by the topic modelling analysis were analysed using follow-up covariate analyses to identify if the topic prominence varied according to any of the covariates. The prevalence of problematic mobile phone use in the sampled population was 40.65%. For factors, the higher thematic categories were habitual/compulsive use, accessibility/utility, alleviation of boredom/moods, lack of control, coping with school/work, entertainment, and communication. For effects, the higher thematic categories were time wastage/insufficient time, distraction/loss of focus, sleep/tiredness, sport-related areas, and addiction.
Study 2 sought to complement the broad exploration conducted in Study 1 by providing a more in-depth investigation using focus groups. The study aimed to explore the factors which contributed to problematic mobile phone use (RQ1), the effects of problematic use (RQ2), and the suggestions to help youth athletes address their problematic use (RQ3). The study utilised a purposive sample of 21 Singaporean youth athletes (aged 12-18 years old) from four different sports. Four focus group sessions were conducted, and each session sought to elicit rich detail about participants’ experiences of problematic mobile phone use. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and various themes pertaining to problematic mobile phone use emerged from the analysis. The analysis revealed various factors which contributed to problematic use, namely personal attributes, needs fulfilment, and external influences. Effects of problematic use included areas such as shrinkage of time, performance deficits, and undesirable behaviours. There were various suggestions on how to overcome problematic use, which included strengthening internal resources and tapping into external sources of help.
Study 3 sought to utilise the findings from Study 1 and 2 to create a custom intervention programme, informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), to help youth athletes address their problematic mobile phone use. The study aimed to answer RQ4, which sought to evaluate whether a custom intervention programme was effective in helping youth athletes address their problematic mobile phone use. The study employed a hybrid mixed-methods design, involving a one-group pretest-posttest design, followed by a multiple case study design. 23 Singaporean youth athletes (aged 13-19 years) went through the intervention programme, and were assessed at pre, post, and follow-up timepoints for their objective and subjective measures of mobile phone use. After the intervention programme had concluded, a smaller sample of eight participants were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews to get their views and feedback on the intervention programme. The results showed that while there were no significant differences in the objective measures of mobile phone use (i.e., duration and frequency) between the timepoints, there was a significant reduction in the subjective measure (i.e., SAS-SV) of problematic mobile phone use in both post and follow-up timepoints. This was supported by the multiple case study analysis, which found that participants were able to implement the various strategies that were covered during the intervention programme, and that those strategies were able to help them reduce their level of problematic mobile phone use. Overall, participant feedback for the intervention programme was positive, with participants stating that it was fun, interactive, relatable, and informative. There were still some barriers that prevented participants from reducing their problematic mobile phone use, and suggestions were given on how to improve the intervention programme.
In conclusion, the current thesis helped to enhance understanding of problematic mobile phone use among the Singaporean youth athlete population. A custom intervention programme was created, which could prove to be a useful tool for sport psychology consultants, schools, coaches, and parents to use with youth athletes who might be struggling with problematic mobile phone use. The various limitations and areas for future research were also discussed.
Date Issued
2023
Call Number
HQ799.2.C45 Ong
Date Submitted
2023