Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.3. Procedures
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Sample
3.2. Prevalence of Nomophobia, Psychological Variables and Time Spent on the Internet
3.3. Bivariate Correlations
3.4. Multiple Linear Regression Models
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
NMP-Q | Nomophobia Questionnaire |
PPS | Phubbing Scale |
RSES | Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale |
SI-LS | Single-Item Life Satisfaction Measure |
UCLA-LSV3 | UCLA Loneliness Scale–version 3 |
Appendix A
Variable | n | % |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Woman | 210 | 68.6 |
Man | 96 | 31.4 |
Age (years) | ||
18–25 | 109 | 35.6 |
26–49 | 111 | 36.3 |
50–79 | 86 | 28.1 |
Educational Level | ||
9th grade | 9 | 2.9 |
Secondary/Technological/Vocational Education | 95 | 31.0 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 149 | 48.7 |
Master’s Degree | 40 | 13.1 |
Ph.D. Degree | 13 | 4.2 |
Occupation | ||
Student | 68 | 22.2 |
Working Student | 36 | 11.8 |
Employed | 171 | 55.9 |
Unemployed | 8 | 2.6 |
Retired | 23 | 7.5 |
Marital Status | ||
Single | 156 | 51 |
Married | 115 | 37.6 |
Separated/Divorced | 31 | 10.1 |
Widowed | 4 | 1.3 |
Min. | Max. | M | SD | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NMP-Q-PT—Total | 20 | 131 | 68.26 | 26.79 | 45.55 | 69.64 | 87.45 |
NMP-Q-PT—F1 | 6 | 42 | 24.17 | 10.53 | 14.86 | 25.00 | 32.76 |
NMP-Q-PT—F2 | 5 | 35 | 13.82 | 7.14 | 7.85 | 12.24 | 19.12 |
NMP-Q-PT—F3 | 4 | 28 | 15.15 | 5.87 | 10.59 | 15.21 | 19.32 |
NMP-Q-PT—F4 | 5 | 35 | 15.12 | 7.36 | 9.14 | 14.04 | 20.27 |
PPS-PT (Phubbing) | 9 | 37 | 20.27 | 5.69 | 16.09 | 19.89 | 24.13 |
RSES-PT (Self-esteem) | 15 | 40 | 31.44 | 5.19 | 28.15 | 31.48 | 35.44 |
(UCLA-LSV3-PT (Loneliness) | 20 | 71 | 39.25 | 9.74 | 32.41 | 38.44 | 44.94 |
SI-LS-PT (Life satisfaction) | 1 | 10 | 7.38 | 1.63 | 6.44 | 7.53 | 8.54 |
Women (n = 210) | Men (n = 96) | t(304) | Sig. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | SD | M | SD | |||
NMP-Q-PT—Total | 70.91 | 26.39 | 62.48 | 26.87 | −2.58 | 0.010 |
NMP-Q-PT—F1 | 25.62 | 10.39 | 21.00 | 10.17 | −3.63 | <0.001 |
NMP-Q-PT—F2 | 13.92 | 7.10 | 13.61 | 7.25 | −0.35 | 0.730 |
NMP-Q-PT—F3 | 15.50 | 5.74 | 14.40 | 6.10 | −1.53 | 0.127 |
NMP-Q-PT—F4 | 15.87 | 7.38 | 13.47 | 7.08 | −2.68 | 0.008 |
Overall (n = 306) | Women (n = 210) | Men (n = 96) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | SD | M | SD | M | SD | |
Mild | 42.73 | 10.10 | 42.55 | 9.36 | 40.89 | 10.16 |
Moderate | 80.64 | 10.48 | 81.29 | 10.02 | 78.97 | 11.57 |
Severe | 112.64 | 8.81 | 112.53 | 8.92 | 113.00 | 8.97 |
Variable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. NMP-Q-PT—Total | — | |||||||||||
2. NMP-Q-PT—F1 | 0.896 ** | — | ||||||||||
3. NMP-Q-PT—F2 | 0.847 ** | 0.646 ** | — | |||||||||
4. NMP-Q-PT—F3 | 0.814 ** | 0.619 ** | 0.622 ** | — | ||||||||
5. NMP-Q-PT—F4 | 0.888 ** | 0.711 ** | 0.694 ** | 0.679 ** | — | |||||||
6. PPS-PT (Phubbing) | 0.646 ** | 0.526 ** | 0.543 ** | 0.613 ** | 0.584 ** | — | ||||||
7. SI-LS-PT (Life satisfaction) | −0.055 | −0.045 | −0.011 | −0.026 | −0.104 | −0.033 | — | |||||
8. RSES-PT (Self-esteem) | −0.191 ** | −0.121 * | −0.160 ** | −0.165 ** | −0.236 ** | −0.225 ** | 0.556 ** | — | ||||
9. UCLA-LSV3-PT (Loneliness) | 0.092 | 0.057 | 0.063 | 0.039 | 0.161 ** | 0.058 | −0.571 ** | −0.557 ** | — | |||
10. Internet use on weekdays | 0.208 ** | 0.172 ** | 0.182 ** | 0.227 ** | 0.153 ** | 0.353 ** | −0.019 | −0.211 ** | 0.108 | — | ||
11. Internet use on weekends | 0.195 ** | 0.103 | 0.198 ** | 0.224 ** | 0.191 ** | 0.293 ** | −0.198 ** | −0.360 ** | 0.200 ** | 0.597 ** | — | |
12. Age | −0.221 ** | −0.176 ** | −0.151 ** | −0.264 ** | −0.197 ** | −0.262 ** | 0.122 * | 0.310 ** | −0.032 | −0.291 ** | −0.427 ** | — |
Model | B | SE | β | t | Sig. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NMP-Q-PT—Total Adj. R2 = 0.447 F (2, 236) = 97.230, p < 0.001 (Constant) | 2.286 | 5.345 | 0.054 | 0.957 | |
Phubbing | 3.172 | 0.229 | 0.667 | 13.827 | <0.001 |
Gender (woman) | 5.919 | 2.817 | 0.101 | 2.101 | 0.037 |
NMP-Q-PT—F1 Adj. R2 = 0.332 F (2, 236) = 60.091, p < 0.001 (Constant) | 0.834 | 2.265 | 0.368 | 0.713 | |
Phubbing | 1.023 | 0.097 | 0.557 | 10.516 | <0.001 |
Gender (woman) | 3.960 | 1.194 | 0.176 | 3.317 | 0.001 |
NMP-Q-PT—F2 Adj. R2 = 0.295 F (1, 237) = 100.539, p < 0.001 (Constant) | −0.598 | 1.518 | −0.394 | 0.694 | |
Phubbing | 0.711 | 0.071 | 0.546 | 10.027 | <0.001 |
NMP-Q-PT—F3 Adj. R2 = 0.360 F (1, 237) = 134.745, p < 0.001 (Constant) | 2.774 | 1.149 | 2.414 | 0.017 | |
Phubbing | 0.623 | 0.054 | 0.602 | 11.608 | <0.001 |
NMP-Q-PT—F4 Adj. R2 = 0.389 F (2, 236) = 76.738, p < 0.001 (Constant) | −2.524 | 1.551 | −1.627 | 0.105 | |
Phubbing | 0.816 | 0.067 | 0.621 | 12.255 | <0.001 |
Gender (woman) | 1.691 | 0.818 | 0.105 | 2.069 | 0.040 |
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Ferreira, I.S.; Rando, B.; Esteves, A.; Castro, M.; Xavier, I.; Abreu, A.M. Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101495
Ferreira IS, Rando B, Esteves A, Castro M, Xavier I, Abreu AM. Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(10):1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101495
Chicago/Turabian StyleFerreira, Inês Saraiva, Belén Rando, António Esteves, Milena Castro, Inês Xavier, and Ana Maria Abreu. 2025. "Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 10: 1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101495
APA StyleFerreira, I. S., Rando, B., Esteves, A., Castro, M., Xavier, I., & Abreu, A. M. (2025). Nomophobia and Its Predictors: The Role of Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Internet Use Factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(10), 1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101495