{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,25]],"date-time":"2026-07-25T05:01:57Z","timestamp":1784955717835,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784764800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health","IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Digital technologies are central to student life, but evidence is limited on whether digital-use scales can provide useful thresholds for identifying psychological distress among medical students. This single-center cross-sectional study analyzed complete data from 600 undergraduates at a medical university in southern Vietnam. Stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms were classified using the DASS-21, while problematic smartphone use, social media use, and gaming-related problems were assessed using the SABAS, BSMAS, and a six-item GAS adaptation, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic analyses and the Youden index were used to estimate discrimination and candidate cut-offs. Non-normal DASS-21 scores were observed for stress (30.4%), depression (37.8%), and anxiety (39.0%), predominantly within the mild range. For stress, the AUCs and cut-offs were 0.75 (95% CI 0.70\u20130.80; \u226523.5) for SABAS, 0.67 (0.62\u20130.71; \u226517.5) for BSMAS, and 0.64 (0.60\u20130.70; \u226515.5) for GAS. For depression, the corresponding values were 0.62 (0.57\u20130.66; \u226521.5), 0.68 (0.63\u20130.73; \u226518.5), and 0.60 (0.55\u20130.65; \u226514.5). For anxiety, they were 0.60 (0.55\u20130.64; \u226520.5), 0.62 (0.57\u20130.67; \u226517.5) and 0.55 (0.51\u20130.60; \u226515.5). Sensitivity was low across thresholds (35.0\u201359.0%). These candidate cut-offs showed modest discrimination and should be considered only as preliminary behavioral flags prompting validated mental health assessment, not as stand-alone screening or diagnostic criteria.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23080950","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T01:18:51Z","timestamp":1784855931000},"page":"950","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Optimal Cut-Offs for Digital Addiction Scales as Preliminary Screening Proxies for Psychological Distress Symptoms Among Vietnamese Medical Students: A Single-Centre ROC Curve Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Linh My","family":"Duong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho 94000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nghia Quang","family":"Bui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho 94000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lam Phuc","family":"Duong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho 94000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ry Thi Khao","family":"Duong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho 94000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Thom\u00e9e, S. 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