The effect of phubbing behavior on loneliness and depression levels in adolescents

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effect of adolescents' phubbing behavior on their loneliness and depression levels. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted using a cross-sectional design. The research was carried out between November 2024 and June 2025 in six high schools located in the Yeşilyurt district of Malatya province. The population of the research consisted of 3,341 adolescent individuals in the high schools included in the scope of the research. The sample size was determined to be 1,828 adolescent individuals based on a power analysis, and students were selected using simple random sampling after being listed in clusters. Data collection tools included the Demographic Information Form, the General Phubbing Scale Adolescent Version, the UCLA Loneliness Scale Short Form, and the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale Short Form. SPSS 22.0 software was used for data analysis, and descriptive statistics, percentage distribution, and regression analyses were used for evaluation. The statistical error level was set at p<0.05. Findings: The study found that phubbing behaviour had a positive and statistically significant effect on loneliness and depression levels (p<0.001). Phubbing was found to explain 21.1% of the variance in depression levels and 0.076% of the variance in loneliness levels. Among the variables affecting loneliness levels were sleep patterns, mother's education level, economic level, and health perception (p<0.05), while family type, health perception, sleep patterns, ownership of a smart device, and social media usage time were found to have an effect on depression levels (p<0.05). Additionally, it was found that socio-demographic variables had a significant effect on adolescent depression levels at a rate of 28.9%. Conclusion: The study found that an increase in phubbing scores had a significant positive effect on loneliness and depression levels. Keywords: Adolescent, Sociotelism, Phubbing, Loneliness, Depression, Public Health Nurse