Smartphone and Social Media Addiction Among Undergraduate Medical Students at the University of Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Abstract Background Smartphone addiction is a growing concern among university students, and medical students may be particularly exposed, given their reliance on smartphones for academic purposes alongside the broader social and recreational pressures affecting this age group. This study aimed to characterise the extent of self-reported problematic smartphone and social media use among medical students at the University of Zakho and to explore associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey ran at the College of Medicine, University of Zakho between January and March 2026. Of 469 students, 286 responded–a 61.0% response rate. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic details, daily usage hours, 16 items adapted from the SAS-SV and SMAS-SF (11 forming a behavioural composite score, range 11–66; Cronbach's α = 0.840), two binary physical symptom items, and a direct addiction self-report. Analysis was done in IBM SPSS Statistics Version 31.0 using a t-test, one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc, Spearman's correlation, chi-square, and multiple linear regression, with p < 0.05 as the threshold. Results 142 males (49.7%) and 144 females (50.3%), mean age 20.68 ± 1.892 years. Over two-thirds placed themselves at weakly agree or above on the direct addiction question, with a mean behavioural score of 42.25 ± 10.25 out of 66. Gender made no significant difference in composite behavioural scores (t-test: p = 0.559) or in the distribution of Q23 self-report responses (chi-square: p = 0.219). Stage 4 scored highest (46.61 ± 9.33) versus Stage 1 (39.86 ± 10.63), the only significant pairing (p = 0.016). Daily usage hours correlated most strongly with the behavioural composite score — ρ = 0.504, p < 0.001. In multiple linear regression, daily usage hours (B = 5.06, p < 0.001), Stage 3 (B = 3.70, p = 0.013), and Stage 4 (B = 5.04, p = 0.005) were significant predictors after simultaneous adjustment (R2 = 0.332). Conclusion Self-reported problematic smartphone and social media use was common in this population, with composite behavioural scores associated with heavier daily use and with specific academic stages–Stage 3 and Stage 4 in particular–even after multivariate adjustment. These findings are exploratory, drawn from a non-probability sample, and should be interpreted with caution pending replication with validated instruments and probability-based sampling.