Abstract
BACKGROUND: The increasing medical students' reliance on digital resources for education, socialization, and stress relief has made these gadgets essential in their lives, potentially leading to changes in mental health, sleep quality, academic performance and physical activity, through the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Problematic Technology-Dependent Behavior (PTDB), including internet addiction and smartphone addiction, on mentioned variables and identify the pathway of these effects in this group. METHODS: In current cross-sectional study, we hypothesized a model in which PTDB and physical activity influence sleep quality and academic procrastination directly and also through the mediation of different mental health problems. A total of 346 medical students completed the Persian versions of validated questionnaires assessing smartphone addiction, internet addiction, sleep quality, academic procrastination, mental health status, and physical activity. We assessed our hypothesis in a path analytic model. RESULTS: PTDB showed a significant correlation with both poor sleep quality and mental health issues (specifically stress) in medical students (all p < 0.05). It impacts sleep quality indirectly, through the mediation of anxiety and stress (all p < 0.05). Additionally, PTDB contributed to academic procrastination both directly and indirectly (all p < 0.05); although, the direct correlation amount was far more than the indirect one (0.42 vs. 0.07). Interestingly, physical activity did not show any correlation with other variables in this study (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This research unveiled the role of anxiety and stress in carrying the effects of PTDB on sleep quality and academic procrastination which suggested a novel approach for screening mental health problems in medical students. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.