Introduction Smartphone use disorder in youth was associated with severe physical, psychological, and financial problems. Based on the ecological system theory of child development, this study examined a wide range of psychosocial characteristics in elementary-, middle-, and high-school adolescents with high scores on smartphone use disorder. Methodology Existing research, which mainly adopted regression-based analytical techniques, found that gender, self-control, sensation seeking, loneliness, anxiety, perceived parent-adolescent relationship, and perceived parental monitoring are associated with smartphone use disorder. To complement traditional variable-centered approaches, the current study adopted a person-centered approach, fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) procedures, to examine adolescents with smartphone use disorder. Results The fsQCA procedure revealed four, nine, and thirteen distinct configurations that contributed to smartphone use disorder in adolescents for elementary school students, middle school students, and high school students respectively. A comparison across the three educational levels revealed four differences and two similarities. The results suggest that different groups of adolescents might be at risk for smartphone use disorder across the three educational levels. Conclusions The fsQCA procedures generated solutions with satisfactory coverage and consistency. This demonstrates the promising value of fsQCA for researching smartphone use disorder and other behavior problems in adolescents. The results suggest that educators and mental health practitioners should consider educational level when helping adolescents with smartphone use disorder.
