The conceptualization and assessment of problematic mobile phone use

Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) is associated with potentially harmful and/or maladaptive behaviour that can occur in a number of different circumstances while using mobile phones (e.g., phoning while driving, phoning in situations in which it is socially inappropriate, losing control over mobile phone use in emotionally laden contexts). PMPU is usually considered as an individual’s inability to control their use of mobile phones, and it eventually leads to negative consequences in their daily lives (e.g., financial problems, relationship problems, occupational and/or educational conflicts, sleep disturbances). PMPU is generally conceptualized within the framework of technological addictions (along with Internet-related addictions; for instance, see Griffiths, 1995; and Billieux, 2012). The conceptualization of PMPU, as with other technological addictions, is controversial and has led to much debate. For example, Internet addiction (IA) has been conceptualized in many different ways (e.g., compulsive Internet use, Internet Use Disorder, problematic Internet use) and various distinct screening tools have been developed (King, Haagsma, Delfabbro, Gradisar, & Griffiths, 2013), leading to inconsistent findings regarding the prevalence rates and associated negative consequences (for reviews, see Kuss, 2012; Kuss, Griffiths, Karila, & Billieux, 2014). Following research into IA by many scholars (e.g., Griffiths, 2000; Starcevic, 2013), PMPU could likewise be considered a heterogeneous concept that has used different terms, of which PMPU is arguably the most common (Bianchi & Phillips, 2005; Billieux, Van Der Linden, D’Acremont, Ceschi, & Zermatten, 2007; Lopez-Fernandez, Honrubia-Serrano, Freixa-Blanxart, & Gibson, 2014). However, other researchers have used alternative terms, such as mobile phone addiction (Chóliz, 2010; Griffiths, 2013; Leung, 2008), mobile phone abuse (Fargues, Lusar, Jordania, & Sánchez, 2009; Pérez, Monje, & de León, 2012), mobile phone over-use (Jenaro, Flores, Gómez-Vela, González-Gil, & Caballo, 2007), mobile phone dependence (Toda et al., 2008), and nomophobia (Bragazzi & Puente, 2014). In relation to the measurement of problematic mobile phone use, the problem of conceptualization has affected the validity of scales created to measure PMPU. The first scale to be developed was the Cellular Phone Dependence Questionnaire (CPDQ; Toda, Monden, Kubo, & Morimoto, 2004), quickly followed by the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS: Bianchi & Olatz Lopez-Fernandez Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium