ABSTRACT
Background: Nomophobia, the anxiety experienced when one is not able to use their smartphones or is separated from it. This condition is rapidly increasingly among the current generation due to the growing dependency on mobile phones. Additionally, nomophobia is linked to several psychological distress such as stress, depression, anxiety etc.
Aim: Exploring the frequency of nomophobia and connection with psychological distress among Indian young adults
Methods: The study involved a sample of N=200 graduate/ undergraduate students and working adults of Delhi NCR. The Nomophobia Scale, created by Yildrim and Correia,2015, NEO Five-Factor Inventory- 3 by McCrae and Costa, 2005 and short version of the Personality Assessment Inventory developed by Leslie Morey, in 1991 were utilized. The research employed SPSS-26, a quantitative analysis tool, and used descriptive statistics along with Pearson Product Moment correlation.
Results: Findings showed that moderate to severe level of nomophobia observed more frequent among the participants and also demonstrated a notable significant and positive correlation at p < 0.01 between elevated nomophobia levels and heightened psychological symptoms especially related to neurotic spectrum such as (DEP) depression, (ANX) anxiety and (SOM) somatic complaints. Further, nomophobics also have a positive correlation with neurotic personality traits. These results highlight the increasing mental health concerns associated with excessive smartphone reliance.
