Technology-related behavioral addiction profiles and mental health in teachers

Abstract

Introduction – Teachers mental health is increasingly challenged by ubiquitous digital demands, yet little is known about how specific constellations of online behaviors and compulsive buying cluster in this key professional group or how they map onto psychiatric symptomatology. Methods – This cross-sectional study examined problematic use of the internet, mobile phones, instant messaging, social networking sites and videogames, together with compulsive buying, in 1, 043 in-service teachers from all educational stages in Spain. Participants completed validated self-report measures of problematic ICT use, compulsive buying, anxiety, depression and online vulnerability. Latent profile analysis combined with k-means clustering identified homogeneous behavioral profiles, and differences in affective symptoms and sociodemographic characteristics were tested using analysis of variance and chi-square tests. Results – Four distinct profiles emerged. A low-risk group showed minimal problematic ICT use or compulsive buying and very low levels of anxiety, depression and online vulnerability. Two intermediate groups were characterized by predominantly ICT-related risk or predominantly compulsive buying, each showing specific and clinically relevant patterns of emotional symptoms. A high-risk group, overrepresented by younger and predominantly female teachers, displayed concurrent problematic ICT use and compulsive buying together with markedly elevated anxiety, depression and online vulnerability, accounting for a large share of the variance in mental health outcomes. Younger teachers were consistently more likely to belong to the high-risk profiles that carried the greatest psychological burden. Discussion – These findings reveal substantial and clinically meaningful heterogeneity in digital and consumer risk behaviors among teachers and point to a subgroup with a profile compatible with behavioral addictions and significant psychiatric distress. The study underscores the importance of integrating digital-behavior screening into occupational mental health assessment in education and supports the development of targeted, profile-based interventions in digital literacy, emotion regulation and identity reinforcement to protect teachers mental health in technology-rich environments.