An increasing problem: Nomophobia, and its relationships with attachment characteristics, and mental health problems in a Turkish adolescent sample

Nomophobia is defined as an intense emotional distress emerging when the individuals lose contact with their mobile phones. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the attachment characteristics, mental problems, and the nomophobia. Method: The participants were 819 adolescents (46 % male, n=379 ; 54 % female n=440) collected from five high schools in Istanbul, Turkey. The instruments completed by the participants was the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and a Short Form of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (s-IPPA). The adolescents were grouped as to their reactions categorised as mild, moderate and severe reactions of nomophobia according to their NMP-Q scores. The scores of the s-IPPA and SDQ were compared with one way variance analysis (ANOVA). The categorical variables were compared with chi square test. The correlations between the scale scores were analyzed with Pearson-product moment correlation test. The predictability of the attachment scores and mental and behavioural problems on the NMP-Q levels were tested with multivariate linear regression analysis. 34.3 % of the participants (n= 281) had mild, 55.4 % (n= 453) had moderate, and 10.4 % (n= 85) had severe nomophobia. Maternal and paternal attachment scores were significantly lower, and alienation scores were significantly higher in the severe nomophobia group compared to the moderate and mild nomophonia groups (p<0.05). Total problem scores, conduct, emotional symptoms, inattention/hyperactivity subscale scores of the self-report SDQ were significantly higher in severe nomohobia group compared to the moderate and mild nomophonia groups (p<0.05). The correlation analysis indicated that total NMP-Q scores positively correlated with the total problem scores of self-report SDQ (r=225) and negatively correlated with the total maternal (r=-121) and paternal attachment (r=-122) scores of the s-IPPA (p<.0.01). Linear regression analysis indicated that maternal and paternal attachment scores, parental communication scores (p<0.05), maternal alienation scores (p<0.05) of the s-IPPA, total problem scores of the self-report SDQ (p<0.05) significantly predict the nomophobia scores. The results of this study suggest it is significant to focus on attachment characteristics, and mental and behavioural problems when evaluating the adolescents with nomophobia in both the academic or clinical field. Keywords: Attachment, Nomophobia,Mental and Behavioral Disorders, Puberty.