Table 2.
Characteristics of the responses from participants about their dating app use.
| Variable | Intervention group (N=290), n (%) or mean (SD) | Control group (N=288), n (%) or mean (SD) | P valuea | ||
| Ever used a dating website |
|
|
.51 | ||
|
|
Yes | 139 (47.9%) | 147 (51.0%) |
|
|
|
|
No | 151 (52.1%) | 141 (49.0%) |
|
|
| Source of information about dating apps |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Internet | 118 (34.8%) | 140 (52.4%) | <.001 | |
|
|
Friends | 147 (43.3%) | 119 (44.6%) | .82 | |
|
|
Teachers or school staff | 52 (15.3%) | 4 (1.5%) | <.001 | |
|
|
Magazine or fashion materials | 3 (0.9%) | 2 (0.7%) | .75 | |
|
|
Family/parents | 19 (5.6%) | 2 (0.7%) | <.001 | |
| Social networking platforms |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Social media platform (eg, Facebook and Instagram) | 96 (44.0%) | 101 (44.7%) | .49 | |
|
|
Dating apps | 42 (19.3%) | 77 (62.1%) | <.001 | |
|
|
Instant chatline (eg, WhatsApp and WeChat) | 78 (35.8%) | 43 (34.7%) | <.001 | |
|
|
Others (eg, school and online game) | 2 (0.9%) | 4 (3.2%) | .03 | |
| Reasons for using dating apps |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Making new friends | 73 (29.9%) | 85 (33.5%) | .38 | |
|
|
Out of curiosity | 83 (34.0%) | 87 (35.6%) | .77 | |
|
|
Finding friends with similar interest | 61 (25.0%) | 60 (24.5%) | .54 | |
|
|
Sexual relationship | 11 (4.5%) | 9 (3.7%) | .59 | |
|
|
Long-term relationship | 16 (6.6%) | 13 (5.3%) | .39 | |
| Encounter of unhappiness while using dating apps |
|
|
.77 | ||
|
|
Yes | 38 (27.3%) | 41 (27.9%) |
|
|
|
|
No | 101 (72.6%) | 106 (72.1%) |
|
|
| Types of problem encountered with dating apps |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Financially scammed | 7 (18.4%) | 5 (12.5%) | .65 | |
|
|
Cyberbully/blackmail | 5 (12.3%) | 4 (10.0%) | .74 | |
|
|
Privacy issues | 15 (39.5%) | 19 (47.5%) | .86 | |
|
|
Sexual assault | 11 (28.9%) | 12 (30.0%) | .73 | |
| Dating apps and their addiction implications |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Time spent on dating app is longer than anticipated |
|
|
.20 | |
|
|
|
Disagree | 61 (44.2%) | 55 (37.4%) |
|
|
|
|
Agree | 77 (55.8%) | 92 (62.6%) |
|
|
|
Affect work or school life |
|
|
.30 | |
|
|
|
Disagree | 83 (60.1%) | 96 (65.3%) |
|
|
|
|
Agree | 55 (39.9%) | 51 (34.7%) |
|
|
|
Affect sleep |
|
|
.83 | |
|
|
|
Disagree | 77 (55.8%) | 83 (56.5%) |
|
|
|
|
Agree | 61 (44.2%) | 64 (43.5%) |
|
|
|
Affect relationship with friends/family |
|
|
.67 | |
|
|
|
Disagree | 104 (25.2%) | 107 (72.8%) |
|
|
|
|
Agree | 35 (74.8%) | 40 (27.2%) |
|
| Outcomes |
|
|
|
||
|
|
GSEb | 23.95 (5.25) | 22.65 (4.85) | .27 | |
|
|
RPSc | 5.96 (0.95) | 5.97 (0.90) | .85 | |
|
|
PHQ-2d | 3.86 (1.33) | 4.10 (1.38) | .09 | |
aChi-square test is used to compare the statistical difference in categorical variables between groups. Mann-Whitney U test is also used.
bGSE: general self-efficacy scale.
cRPS: risk propensity scale.
dPHQ-2: Patient Health Questionnaire.