Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece
Smartphones with their numerous applications have become essential daily equipment, prompting scientific research to deal with the impact of their use on psychosocial health. Under this spectrum, the aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the association between nomophobia and the n...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/12/191 |
| _version_ | 1827574987817484288 |
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| author | Charalambos Gnardellis Elissavet Vagka Areti Lagiou Venetia Notara |
| author_facet | Charalambos Gnardellis Elissavet Vagka Areti Lagiou Venetia Notara |
| author_sort | Charalambos Gnardellis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Smartphones with their numerous applications have become essential daily equipment, prompting scientific research to deal with the impact of their use on psychosocial health. Under this spectrum, the aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the association between nomophobia and the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress, in relation to self-esteem and sociodemographic data, among the young adult population. The study sample consisted of 1408 young adults aged 18–25 years, participating on a voluntary basis with an online anonymous questionnaire. Data were collected through the “Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q)”, “Depression Anxiety Stress Scales—short form (DASS-21)”, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The questionnaire also included socio-demographic characteristics and smartphone use variables. Data analysis showed that women were identified with severe depression and stress to a greater extent than men (63.3% vs. 55.1% for depression and 18.1% vs. 13.8% for stress scale). With respect to nomophobia, participants with severe levels of nomophobia also exhibited severe levels of negative emotional states in all DASS components, i.e., 40.6% in depression, 73.7% in anxiety, and 32.7% in stress (all <i>p</i> values < 0.001). Participants with severe levels of depression and anxiety were very often checking their phone and used it in all daily activities. Moreover, correlation analysis revealed that self-esteem had a moderating effect on the relationship between nomophobia and DASS, a fact that modifies the association between the involved variables: stronger relationships appeared between nomophobia and DASS components in individuals with normal/high self-esteem than in individuals with low self-esteem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:49:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-770d1cef05fd4d79a2cdcfd44c21d010 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2174-8144 2254-9625 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:49:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-770d1cef05fd4d79a2cdcfd44c21d0102023-12-22T14:04:39ZengMDPI AGEuropean Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education2174-81442254-96252023-11-0113122765277810.3390/ejihpe13120191Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in GreeceCharalambos Gnardellis0Elissavet Vagka1Areti Lagiou2Venetia Notara3Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, 30200 Messolonghi, GreeceDepartment of Public and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Public and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Public and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceSmartphones with their numerous applications have become essential daily equipment, prompting scientific research to deal with the impact of their use on psychosocial health. Under this spectrum, the aim of the present cross-sectional study was to examine the association between nomophobia and the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress, in relation to self-esteem and sociodemographic data, among the young adult population. The study sample consisted of 1408 young adults aged 18–25 years, participating on a voluntary basis with an online anonymous questionnaire. Data were collected through the “Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q)”, “Depression Anxiety Stress Scales—short form (DASS-21)”, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). The questionnaire also included socio-demographic characteristics and smartphone use variables. Data analysis showed that women were identified with severe depression and stress to a greater extent than men (63.3% vs. 55.1% for depression and 18.1% vs. 13.8% for stress scale). With respect to nomophobia, participants with severe levels of nomophobia also exhibited severe levels of negative emotional states in all DASS components, i.e., 40.6% in depression, 73.7% in anxiety, and 32.7% in stress (all <i>p</i> values < 0.001). Participants with severe levels of depression and anxiety were very often checking their phone and used it in all daily activities. Moreover, correlation analysis revealed that self-esteem had a moderating effect on the relationship between nomophobia and DASS, a fact that modifies the association between the involved variables: stronger relationships appeared between nomophobia and DASS components in individuals with normal/high self-esteem than in individuals with low self-esteem.https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/12/191nomophobiadepressionanxietystressself-esteemsmartphone overuse |
| spellingShingle | Charalambos Gnardellis Elissavet Vagka Areti Lagiou Venetia Notara Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education nomophobia depression anxiety stress self-esteem smartphone overuse |
| title | Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece |
| title_full | Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece |
| title_fullStr | Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece |
| title_short | Nomophobia and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS Scale), among Young Adults in Greece |
| title_sort | nomophobia and its association with depression anxiety and stress dass scale among young adults in greece |
| topic | nomophobia depression anxiety stress self-esteem smartphone overuse |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/13/12/191 |
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