Social support as a mediator in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia: An Investigation among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted with N = 547 university students. Participants answered a self-administered questionnaire measuring nomophobia, social support, and perceived stress. Exploratory analyses were conducted using partial least square structural equation modelling. We found that perceived stress was positively associated with nomophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst social support partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia. The results of this study indicated that stress may be buffered by social support in individuals with higher levels of nomophobia.

Smartphone addiction risk, technology-related behaviors and attitudes, and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Internet-based addictive behaviors have intensified throughout the COVID-19 lockdowns ( Drouin et al, 2020 ; Huixi et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2021 ; Masaeli and Farhadi, 2021 ; Nan and Guangyu, 2021 ; Lai et al, 2022 ; Ma et al, 2022 ; Peng et al, 2022 ; de Freitas et al, 2022b ), leading to stress, anxiety, and depression. Smartphone addiction is related to stress and to unsatisfactory sleep patterns.…”

The effect of emotion regulation strategies on nomophobia in college students: The masking role of resilience

“…Nowadays mobile phones have provided great convenience to our lives. However, excessive use of them can affect individuals' physical and mental health, leading to a range of mental disorders, such as insomnia [ 1 , 2 ], musculoskeletal injuries [ 3 ], depression [ 4 ], and impaired social functioning [ 5 ]. Simultaneously, problematic mobile phone use, such as nomophobia, mobile phone addiction, compulsive Internet use, and other behavioral disorders may be triggered.…”

“…Enhancing teenagers' emotional regulation reduces screen time [ 27 ]. Previous studies on the effects of nomophobia on college students' mental health have focused on personality traits, impulsivity, various emotional difficulties, sleep quality and perceived stress [ 1 , 5 , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] ]. Further research is required to determine whether emotion regulation strategies affect nomophobia.…”