Background: Mobile Phone Dependence Syndrome (MPDS), a kind of addiction caused by extra phone use, is characterized by impairment of physical, mental, and social functioning. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of MPDS, injury due to overfocusing on phone, and explore MPDS’s associated factors among middle school students in Guangzhou, China. Methods: 1928 questionnaires were collected from April 2023 to May 2023 in Liwan and Nansha districts of Guangzhou through multi-stage cluster sampling. We used the Mobile Phone Dependence Scale for Middle School Students (MPDS Scale) and analyzed its reliability and validity. Frequency distribution, Chi-square test, fisher exact test and binary logistic regression were performed in data analysis. Results: The reliability and validity of the MPDS Scale were good. The prevalence of MPDS was 10.0% and injury rate because of overfocusing on phone is 11.9%. Binary logistic regression demonstrated that gender, grade, personality, father’s parenting style, time of mobile phone use on rest days, and the most important motivation for using phone might influence occurrence of MPDS among middle school students (P<0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of MPDS among middle school students in Guangzhou was at a low level relatively. Students with MPDS had higher injury proportion than students with no MPDS. Female gender, grade of senior high school, introverted character, fathers with authoritarian parenting styles, spending 6 hours above on phone on rest days, and motivation of entertainment for using phone were associated with occurrence of MPDS. These findings can help develop measures to reduce occurrence of MPDS.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics committee of Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China (approval number GZCDC-ECHR-2024P0095). Informed consent was obtained from all the student participants.

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