Nomophobia and its predictors in undergraduate students of Lahore, Pakistan

Glimpse on 21st century new phobias; a predictive model of nomophobia

The main purpose of this study was to examine the explanatory power of a predictive model of nomophobia consisting of rumination, fear of missing out (FoMO), mindfulness and non-pathological compulsions. The research involved a cross-sectional design exploring the prevalence of nomophobia in a Romanian university students' cohort. The quantitative methodology was used to collect and analyse the data obtained from all the respondents. Researchers adapted and pretested the questionnaire NMP-Q, before distributing it to 194 university students. SPSS (V. 20) and Hayes's PROCESS tool were used to analyse the data. The findings demonstrated that the above-mentioned psychological variables have a direct and significant relationship with nomophobia. Specifically, within the multidimensional mechanism that explains nomophobia, fear of missing out (FoMO), non-pathological compulsions, and rumination, included in the predictive model in this order, played the most important role, as together cover 34% of nomophobia variance. Furthermore, the fear of missing out has the highest explanatory contribution to nomophobia. The current study gives a better understanding of the dynamics of nomophobia in young people by focusing on psychological factors that play an important role in this phenomenon.

Internet addiction and nomophobia among medical undergraduates of a tertiary care teaching institute in Patna, Eastern India

BACKGROUND

Excess use of the internet and gadgets for learning, gaming, and socialization has resulted in addictive behavior and nomophobia, especially among college-going students. Thus, this study was designed to find out the proportion and predictors of internet addiction and nomophobia among medical undergraduates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study conducted on 367 medical undergraduates of a teaching hospital was carried out using a standard tool: the Internet Addiction Test Short Form for screening internet addiction and the Nomophobia Questionnaire for nomophobia. Results were tabulated and multivariable binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to find out the predictors of internet addiction and nomophobia.

RESULTS

A total of 116 (31.6%, 95% CI: 27%-36.5%) students were addicted to the internet and 247 (67.3%, 95% CI: 62.3%-71.9%) were screened to have moderate-to-severe nomophobia. The age of the student (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.83 [0.69-0.99]), male gender (AOR: 2.24 [1.33-3.79]), screen time (AOR: 1.24 [1.14-1.34]), checking the phone first in the morning (AOR: 1.98 [1.107-3.54]), non-leisure time usage of phone (AOR: 2.07 [1.25-3.4]), and altered reading habit (AOR: 2.51 [1.26-5.01]) were independent predictors of internet addiction. Increased screen time (AOR: 1.103 [1.016-1.23]), checking the phone first in the morning after waking up (AOR: 1.68 [1.05-2.81]), altered academic performance (AOR: 1.99 [1.079-3.68]), and presence of internet addiction (AOR: 8.17 [3.56-18.76]) were independent predictors of moderate-to-severe nomophobia among medical students.

CONCLUSION

One and two out of every three medical students were found to have internet addiction and moderate-to-severe nomophobia, respectively. Increased screen time, altered academic performance, and the presence of internet addiction were independent predictors of moderate-to-severe nomophobia.

Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Association with Academic Performance Among Physiotherapy Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross- Sectional Survey

Background

Nomophobia is common among students in many healthcare disciplines, and its association with academic performance has been explore before. However, there is no available data on its prevalence and association with academic performance among undergraduate physiotherapy (PT) students in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

Between 22 December 2022 and 30 January 2023, a cross-sectional survey was conducted by dissemination using an online platform (Survey Monkey).

Results

In total, 806 PT students, with males accounting for 494 (61%), responded to the survey. The prevalence of nomophobia among PT students was 98.4% (793). The mean (±SD) of the total NMP-Q items scores was 49 (±17), indicating a mild level of nomophobia. Female PT students had significantly higher nomophobia scores than the males (47 (39-65); 44 (38-52); (p < 0.001)). Non-smokers had significant higher nomophobia scores than smokers (46 (38-61); 44 (38-49); (p = 0.004)). Regarding grade point averages (GPA), the students with a GPA of less than 3.49 had the highest nomophobia score (51 (43-74); p <0.001)). Concerning the stage of their studies, bridging students had the highest nomophobia score (51 (34-76); p = 0.023)). Regarding academic warnings, those who reported no academic warnings had the highest nomophobia score (46 (42-50); p = 0.023)). Finally, regarding study hours, the students who spent ≥ five hours studying per week had the highest nomophobia score (54 (42-68); p < 0.001)).

Conclusion

Nomophobia is common among PT students, with the majority experiencing a mild level. Being female, non-smoker, and having a higher academic performance were risk factors associated with higher nomophobia levels.

Nomophobia among university students: Prevalence, correlates, and the mediating role of smartphone use between Facebook addiction and nomophobia

Nomophobia ('no mobile phone phobia') has been growing issue worldwide in recent years and has been associated with a number of psychological and behavioral health-related problems. However, few studies have examined nomophobia in Bangladesh. Therefore, the severity and correlates of nomophobia, and the mediating role of smartphone use between Facebook addiction and nomophobia was investigated. A cross-sectional study utilizing 585 university students was conducted employing a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a survey in March 2022. The survey comprised questions related to socio-demographics, behavioral health, academic performance, nomophobia, smartphone addiction, Facebook addiction, insomnia, and depression. The mean score of nomophobia was 88.55 out of 140 (±21.71). The prevalence was 9.4% for mild nomophobia, 56.1% for moderate nomophobia, and 34.5% for severe nomophobia. First-year students had higher levels of nomophobia than other years. Significant predictors for nomophobia included daily duration of smartphone time, psychoactive substance use, and being in a relationship. Nomophobia was significantly associated with smartphone addiction, Facebook addiction, insomnia, and depression. Moreover, smartphone addiction significantly mediated the relationship between Facebook addiction and nomophobia. Strategies that help reduce daily smartphone time, and reduce psychoactive substance use might help reduce nomophobia prevalence among university students.

Unravelling the Relation Between Fear of Missing Out, Time Spent on the Phone, Sex, Alienation, and Nomophobia

The prevalence of nomophobia is growing among adolescents. This study aimed to disentangle the relationship between nomophobia, the fear of missing out, time spent on the phone, sex, and social alienation. Participants, who were 595 students (313 females and 282 males) attending high school during the 2019-2020 academic year, filled out personal information forms and a series of scales involving nomophobia, the fear of missing out, and social alienation. Then, data were analyzed through a moderated mediation analysis. The results showed that the bivariate correlation was significant but not the direct effect of gender on nomophobia; still, other direct effects were significant. The partial indirect effect of the fear of missing out on nomophobia was only significant for females when social alienation was controlled for. In the model where nomophobia was the outcome model, the power values for the time spent on the phone and its interaction with sex were low but high for other factors. Furthermore, the effect size was small for the model where the mediator was the outcome and high for the model that had nomophobia as the outcome. Thus, it is crucial to consider that the motives underlying the fear of missing out and nomophobia differ between the sexes in planning interventions.

Smartphone use and well-being in Pakistan: Comparing the effect of self-reported and actual smartphone use

Objective

Past work has shown that smartphone use has negative effects on well-being. Yet, most evidence relies on self-reported measures of smartphone use and comes from Western democracies. We examined the relationship between both self-reported and actual smartphone use and well-being in Pakistan, a country that is under-researched in the Global South. Additionally, we investigated the moderating effect of the fear of missing out (FoMO).

Methods

We conducted an online survey among 427 Pakistani citizens. Participants reported their smartphone use and well-being (i.e., levels of depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction). At the end of the survey, participants were asked to upload screenshots of their respective 'Screen Time' (for iOS) or 'Digital Well-being' (for Android) apps, which we used to measure their actual smartphone use.

Results

We found a moderate association between self-reported and actual smartphone use (r = .36); on average, participants underreported their daily smartphone use by 11 min. Actual smartphone use was negatively associated with well-being, while self-reported use showed no statistically significant association. FoMO was positively associated with actual smartphone use but not with self-reported use. Finally, FoMO moderated the relationship between self-reported use and well-being.

Conclusion

Our findings show that the relationship between smartphone use and well-being depends on how smartphone use is measured and is moderated by FoMO. Moreover, we find that mobile data donation is viable in Pakistan, which should encourage future research to use it as a complement to self-reported media use more often.

Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Impact on Academic Performance Among Respiratory Therapy Students in Saudi Arabia

Background

Nomophobia has been highly prevalent among health discipline students. However, there is no available data on the prevalence of nomophobia among respiratory therapy (RT) students in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey using the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) was conducted and distributed using a convenience sample of RT students through an online platform (Survey Monkey) between September and November 2022.

Results

Overall, 1428 RT students, with males accounting for 773 (54%), responded to the online survey. The prevalence of nomophobia among RT students was 97.3% (1390). The mean (±SD) of the total NMP-Q items scores was 62 (±22), indicating a moderate level of nomophobia among the RT students. Female RT students had significantly higher nomophobia scores than male RT students (63 (47-80) vs 59 (43-75); p <0.001)). Single RT students had significantly higher nomophobia scores than married RT students (62 (46-78) vs 46 (37-64); p <0.001)). RT students who were living outside the family home had significantly higher nomophobia scores than RT students who were living with their family (66 (54-78) vs 60 (44-77); p = 0.001)). RT students with a GPA of 4.50 to 5.00 had the highest nomophobia score (63 (46-79); p = 0.005)). RT students who were in their third year had the highest nomophobia score (66 (48-80); p <0.001)). RT students who reported no academic warnings had the highest nomophobia score (63 (48-80); p <0.001)). RT students who spent ≥ five hours studying per week had the highest nomophobia score (64 (51-80); p <0.001)).

Conclusion

Nomophobia is common among RT students, with the majority experiencing a moderate level. Being female, single, living outside the family home, and having a higher academic performance were risk factors associated with higher nomophobia levels.

The Prevalence of Mild, Moderate, and Severe Nomophobia Symptoms: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

NOMOPHOBIA, or NO MObile PHone Phobia, refers to a psychological condition in which people fear being disconnected from their mobile phones. The purpose of this review was to establish the prevalence of nomophobia symptoms in youth and young adults according to severity, country, culture, population, measurement tool, and year of data collection. An electronic search of fourteen databases, two digital preservation services, and three content aggregator services was conducted from the inception of each database until 15 September 2021. A total of 52 studies involving 47,399 participants from 20 countries were included in the analyses. The prevalence of nomophobia was defined as the proportion of individuals scoring at or above established cut-offs on validated measures. Based on a random-effects meta-analysis, approximately 20% of individuals showed mild symptoms of nomophobia, 50% showed moderate symptoms, and 20% showed severe symptoms. Our results showed that university students from non-Western cultures are the most likely to suffer severe symptoms. In the year 2021, the prevalence rate of nomophobia increased. The instrument that was best able to detect nomophobia was the nomophobia questionnaire. Most individuals who own mobile phones experience mild or moderate symptoms of nomophobia. Severe symptoms deserve attention from clinicians and research scientists. A valid method of identifying individuals with a severe addiction to their mobile phones will help with timely and effective therapeutic management.

The Prevalence of Nomophobia by Population and by Research Tool: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

Background: No systematic review or meta-analysis has yet been performed to examine the global prevalence of nomophobia by population, by instrument. Thus, this review was performed to estimate the prevalence of nomophobia by severity. Methods: American Psychological Association PsycINFO, Cochrane, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EBSCOhost, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest Medical, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception of each respective database to second week of January 2021 were used. There was no language restriction. The random-effect meta-analysis model was used with the DerSimonian and Laird methodology was used for computation. Results: Twenty papers, involving 12,462 participants from ten countries, were evaluated for meta-analysis. The prevalence of moderate to severe nomophobia is 70.76% [95% CI 62.62%; 77.75%]. The prevalence of severe nomophobia is 20.81% [95% CI 15.45%; 27.43%]. University students appeared to be the highest group affected with a prevalence of severe nomophobia 25.46% [95% CI 18.49%; 33.98%]. Meta-regressions of severe nomophobia showed that age and sex were not a successful predictor of severe nomophobia β = −0.9732, p = 0.2672 and β = −0.9732, p = 0.4986. Conclusions: The prevalence of severe nomophobia is approximately 21% in the general adult population. University students appeared to be the most impacted by the disorder.

The relationship between the nomophobic levels of higher education students in Ghana and academic achievement

There is an upsurge in the use of mobile phones among higher education students in Ghana, which may result in the nomophobia prevalence with the students. Therefore, the need to assess the influence of nomophobia within the student population in Ghana. This descriptive cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of nomophobia and the sociodemographic variables, and the association with academic achievement of the understudied population. A self-reporting nomophobia questionnaire, composed of 20 dimensions, was answered by 670 university students to measure the nomophobia prevalence. Raw data were estimated using descriptive statistics, and one-way ANOVA and Independent T-test. While the findings showed diverse grades of nomophobia, statistical significance between academic achievement and the level of nomophobia was observed. This study concludes that there is a high nomophobia prevalence among university students in Ghana as the use of smartphones increases. However, follow-up studies should be conducted in Ghanaian universities to monitor nomophobia and its associates in order to reduce the adverse effects of habitual use of smartphones.