Nomophobia among medical students and its association with depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance

Abstract

Introduction: As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the adoption of technology remains one of the defining factors of human progress. Nomophobia (NO MObile PHOne PhoBIA) represents a mental condition caused by the fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity. Such condition is directly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, nomophobia can lead to structural brain damage. Objective: The present study aims to assess the effect of nomophobia on medical students at a private institution and its association with depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance. Method: This is a cross-sectional observational study carried out in medical students at Centro Universitário Christus. Nomophobia was measured using the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The NMP-Q has 20 questions, which are asked on a 7-point Likert scale. This scale has been validated for the Brazilian Portuguese language. Depression, anxiety and stress were measured by the DASS-21, a simplified version of the DASS instrument. The DASS-21 questionnaire was also validated for the Brazilian Portuguese language. Academic performance was measured through API, the product of a complex mathematical operation that results in the student’s average grade in the semester and functions as a reference index for pedagogical follow-up in the assessed institution. In addition, the device use habits were assessed. Descriptive results were presented, and bivariate analyses of association and correlation were performed. This study was approved by the research ethics committee. Result: A sample of 292 students was assessed. Virtually all students (99.7%) had some degree of nomophobia, and 64.5% had a moderate or severe level of nomophobia. More than 50% of the students had higher than mild degrees of stress, and 19.5% and 11.2% of the students had severe or very severe levels of anxiety and depression, respectively. When analyzing the correlation of NMP-Q with DASS-21 scores, it was observed that increases in NMP-Q lead to increases in the overall DASS score (p < 0.001), and that worse results in DASS-21 are associated with worse API. Conclusion: Our study suggests that nomophobia is likely to increase anxiety, stress and depression and, as a result, leads to a decrease in academic performance.

The relationship between nomophobia and psychological distress in Tunisian students: The moderating effect of physical activity

“…As for the direct effect, our ndings expand the existing knowledge by providing further support for the positive association between nomophobia and depression, anxiety and stress. In agreement with our results, Tolan and Karahan [10] and Kubrusly et al [57] found a positive correlation between higher nomophobia scores and more severe depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms as assessed by the DASS scale among university students [10,57]. In many studies, nomophobia has been associated with both depression and stress [7,58,59].…”

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

“… 13 Corroborating our findings, many recent studies carried out among undergraduate medical students in Brazil and India indicated that approximately 99% of the entire population experienced nomophobia, with around 64–67% of the overall participants having a moderate level of nomophobia. 10 , 26 , 27 Similarly, other related studies among university students in India and Ghana have shown a prevalence rate estimated at 96–99%, with 59% of the total respondents enduring a moderate level of nomophobia. 28 , 29 Moreover, a cross-sectional study conducted among health sciences students at King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia found that the incidence percentage of nomophobia was 85.3%, with 22.1% experiencing severe nomophobia and 63.2% suffering from mild nomophobia.…”

Validity, reliability and prevalence estimates of nomophobia among undergraduate dental students of Bhubaneswar, India

“…This is where the rightly-coined term, Nomophobia (NO MObile PHone PhoBIA) comes into play. Nomophobia arises from a feeling of not being able to make and receive phone calls, send or receive text messages, losing internet connectivity and access to social networking sites and being able to access information online [6]. It is used to describe a psychological condition when people have a fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity.…”