Prevalence of nomophobia and its association with stress, anxiety and depression among students

Sureka  V.; Abeetha s; Suma  S.; Sadhana  Subramanian; Brinda  S.; Bhagyashree  N.; Ramya  K.; Ganesh  M.

doi:10.51248/.v40i4.333

Authors

Sureka V.
Abeetha s
Suma S.
Sadhana Subramanian
Brinda S.
Bhagyashree N.
Ramya K.
Ganesh M.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51248/.v40i4.333

Keywords:

Mobile phone, use, stress, anxiety, depression

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: The change in human behaviour has created a social phobia wherein a human use either computers or any other electronic gadgets to defend himself from social contact. Nomophobia is fear of not having mobile phones and the stress associated with it. Increased use of mobile phones among students has changed the scenario and it is no more a luxury but a necessity. Social interaction has decreased and electronic gadgets have become the master. This has led to development of neuropsychological issues. The purpose of the study is to find out the prevalence of nomophobia among college students and to explore the association between nomophobia and stress, anxiety and depression.

Materials and Methods: Randomly selected 167 medical and dental students were given questionnaires to assess the prevalence of nomophobia. Separate questionnaires were given to assess stress, anxiety and depression.

Results: Results showed a wide prevalence of nomophobia (59%) among students. 14%, 29%, 8% of students were seen having severe/ extreme depression, anxiety and stress respectively.

Conclusion: Nomophobia was significantly associated with stress and depression (P ?0.05). Students have to be periodically screened to identify stress, anxiety and depression and counselled about the constructive usage of mobile phones.

Author Biographies

Sureka V.

Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Abeetha s

Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Suma S.

Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Sadhana Subramanian

Scientist B, ICMR – National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Telangana

Brinda S.

Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Bhagyashree N.

Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Ramya K.

⁴Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Ganesh M.

Professor and Head, Department of Physiology, A.C.S. Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

References

King, A.L.S., Valença, A. M., Silva, A. C., Baczynski, T., Carvalho, M. R., Nardi, A. E.Nomophobia: Dependency on virtual environments or social phobia? Computers in Human Behavior. 2013; 29: 140-144.

Yildirim, C., Correia, A. P. Exploring the dimensions of nomophobia: Development and validation of a self-reported questionnaire. Computers in Human Behavior. 2015; 49: 130-137.

Macro - market analysis and consumer research organization. A report on study of mobile phone usage among the teenagers and youth in Mumbai. Apr-May 2004.

Dixit, S., Shukla, H., Bhagwat, A. K., Bindal, A., Goyal, A., Zaidi, A. K., Shrivastava, A. Study to Evaluate Mobile Phone Dependence Among Students of a Medical College and Associated Hospital of Central India. Ind J Community Med. 2010; 35(2): 339-341.

Raines, M. L. An introduction to Nomophobia (Learn about Nomophobia) Available from: http://www.nomophobic.co.uk/.

Cohen, S., Deverts, J. D., Miller, G. E. Psychological stress and disease. JAMA. 2007; 298: 1685-1687.

Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., Lowe, B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166: 1092-1097.

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001; 16(9): 606-613.

King, A.L.S., Valença, A. M., Silva, A. C., Sancassiani, F., Machado, S., Nardi, A. E. Nomophobia- Impact of Cell Phone Use Interfering with Symptoms and Emotions of Individuals with Panic Disorder Compared with a Control Group. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2014; 10: 28-35.

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Text-Revision. Washington. DC: American Psychiatric Association; American Psychiatric Association. 2000; 393-444.

Pavithra, M. B., Suwarna, M., Murthy, M.T.S. A study on nomophobia. Mobile phone dependence, among students of a medical college in Bangalore. Natl J Community Med. 2015; 6: 340-344.

Yildirim, C., Correia, A. P. Understanding Nomophobia: A Modern Age Phobia Among College Students. In: Zaphiris P., Ioannou A. (eds) Learning and Collaboration Technologies. LCT 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 2015; 9192: 724-735.

Nikhita, C. S., Jadhav, P. R., Ajinkya, S. A. Prevalence of mobile phone dependence in secondary school adolescents. J Clin Diagn Res. 2015; 9(11): VC06–VC09.

Bhattacharya, S., Bashar, M. A., Srivastava, A., Singh, A. NOMOPHOBIA: NO MobilePhonePhoBIA. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019; 8(4): 1297?1300.

Papaconstantinou, E., Bartfay, W. J., Bartfay, E. Smartphone use, sleep quality and quantity, and mental health outcomes in a university population. Sleep Medicine. 2017; 40: e251.

Borkotoky, C., Saikia, J. A study on prevalence of mobile phone dependence among youth of Jorhat district. Ind J of Health and Wellbeing. 2019; 10 (7): 246- 248.

Singh, B., Gupta, R., Garg, R. Mobile phones; a boon or bane for mankind? - Behavior of medical students. Intl J of Innovative Research and Dev. 2013; 2(4): 196-205.

Varalakshmi, S., Karthick, S., JeevaJothy, S. Prevalence of elevated blood pressure, stress, and anxiety and its association with cognitive failure among medical students – A cross-sectional study. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol. 2020; 10 (3): 232-235.