Objective: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) classified mobile phone addiction disorder under ‎‎"impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified". This study surveyed the ‎diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV-TR for the diagnosis of mobile phone ‎addiction in correspondence with Iranian society and culture.‎
Method: Two hundred fifty students of Tehran universities were entered into this ‎descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. Quota sampling method ‎was used. At first, semi- structured clinical interview (based on DSM-IV-‎TR) was performed for all the cases, and another specialist re-evaluated the ‎interviews. Data were analyzed using content validity, inter-scorer reliability (Kappa coefficient) and test-retest via SPSS18 software.
Results: The content validity of the semi- structured clinical interview matched the ‎DSM –IV-TR criteria for behavioral addiction. Moreover, their content was ‎appropriate, and two items, including "SMS pathological use" and "High ‎monthly cost of using the mobile phone” were added to promote its validity. ‎Internal reliability (Kappa) and test –retest reliability were 0.55 and r = 0.4 ‎‎(p<0. 01) respectively.‎
Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that semi- structured diagnostic criteria of ‎DSM-IV-TR are valid and reliable for diagnosing mobile phone addiction, ‎and this instrument is an effective tool to diagnose this disorder.‎