The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship between problematic social media use/problematic smartphone use and psychological distress among university students
As smartphones and social media become more common, the psychological impact on university students has garnered increasing research attention. The present study examined nomophobia as the mediator in the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU)/ problematic smartphone use (PSU), and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Routledge
2025
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/1/117683.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848867313438162944 |
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| author | Tung, Serene En Hui Gan, Wan Ying Poon, Wai Chuen Lee, Ling Jun Ruckwongpatr, Kamolthip Kukreti, Shikha Griffiths, Mark D. Pakpour, Amir H. Lin, Chung-Ying |
| author_facet | Tung, Serene En Hui Gan, Wan Ying Poon, Wai Chuen Lee, Ling Jun Ruckwongpatr, Kamolthip Kukreti, Shikha Griffiths, Mark D. Pakpour, Amir H. Lin, Chung-Ying |
| author_sort | Tung, Serene En Hui |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | As smartphones and social media become more common, the psychological impact on university students has garnered increasing research attention. The present study examined nomophobia as the mediator in the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU)/ problematic smartphone use (PSU), and psychological distress among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 622 Malaysian university students recruited through online survey, socio-demographic information, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMPQ) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were completed. To analyze mediation effects, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used. PSMU, PSU and psychological distress were found to be positively related to nomophobia. Nomophobia was a significant mediator between PSMU/PSU and psychological distress. Findings appear to highlight the importance of nomophobia in increasing psychological distress among young adults. Future research could examine these relationships longitudinally to better understand the relationship for effective interventions for the improvement of psychological well-being of young adults navigating the challenges of modern technology. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:34:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-117683 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:34:31Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1176832025-06-11T04:38:04Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/ The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship between problematic social media use/problematic smartphone use and psychological distress among university students Tung, Serene En Hui Gan, Wan Ying Poon, Wai Chuen Lee, Ling Jun Ruckwongpatr, Kamolthip Kukreti, Shikha Griffiths, Mark D. Pakpour, Amir H. Lin, Chung-Ying As smartphones and social media become more common, the psychological impact on university students has garnered increasing research attention. The present study examined nomophobia as the mediator in the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU)/ problematic smartphone use (PSU), and psychological distress among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 622 Malaysian university students recruited through online survey, socio-demographic information, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMPQ) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were completed. To analyze mediation effects, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used. PSMU, PSU and psychological distress were found to be positively related to nomophobia. Nomophobia was a significant mediator between PSMU/PSU and psychological distress. Findings appear to highlight the importance of nomophobia in increasing psychological distress among young adults. Future research could examine these relationships longitudinally to better understand the relationship for effective interventions for the improvement of psychological well-being of young adults navigating the challenges of modern technology. Routledge 2025-05 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/1/117683.pdf Tung, Serene En Hui and Gan, Wan Ying and Poon, Wai Chuen and Lee, Ling Jun and Ruckwongpatr, Kamolthip and Kukreti, Shikha and Griffiths, Mark D. and Pakpour, Amir H. and Lin, Chung-Ying (2025) The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship between problematic social media use/problematic smartphone use and psychological distress among university students. Psychology, Health and Medicine. pp. 1-17. ISSN 1354-8506 (In Press) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13548506.2025.2478516 10.1080/13548506.2025.2478516 |
| spellingShingle | Tung, Serene En Hui Gan, Wan Ying Poon, Wai Chuen Lee, Ling Jun Ruckwongpatr, Kamolthip Kukreti, Shikha Griffiths, Mark D. Pakpour, Amir H. Lin, Chung-Ying The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship between problematic social media use/problematic smartphone use and psychological distress among university students |
| title | The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| title_full | The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| title_fullStr | The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| title_full_unstemmed | The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| title_short | The mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| title_sort | mediating effect of nomophobia in the relationship
between problematic social media use/problematic
smartphone use and psychological distress among
university students |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117683/1/117683.pdf |