Nomophobia and Stress among Vietnamese High School Students in Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Model of Loneliness

Abstract

Nomophobia is rising among high school students, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as social distancing, longterm online learning, and lack of social support. Many studies have also shown that students with high levels of nomophobia have a higher risk of stress. However, very few researchers are interested in studying loneliness as a mediation factor for the relationship between nomophobia and stress. This study investigated whether the loneliness factor is a mediator in the relationship between nomophobia and stress in Vietnamese high school students. Participants include 556 Vietnamese high school students. Participants completed the Nomophobia Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21, The UCLA loneliness scale version 3. In this research, to test variable relationships, the mediation analyzing method by the PROCESS macro 3.5 will be applied. The research concludes that for Vietnam high school students, the mediating role of loneliness was identified in the relationship between nomophobia and stress. It is a suggestion through this research that nomophobia preventive and mitigating measures should reduce loneliness in students.

Effects of Difficulty in Handling Emotions and Social Interactions on Nomophobia: Examining the Mediating Role of Feelings of Loneliness

“…Various studies have been conducted during the global health crisis on nomophobia: For instance, Bhatnagar et al (2021) assessed nomophobia prior to and during the COVID-19 lockdown, reporting an increase of smartphone overuse during the pandemic restrictions, with a significant proportion of participants with moderate to severe nomophobic symptoms, whereas Sui et al (2022) indicated that nomophobic symptoms tend to be stable when compared with pre-pandemic data; also, Zwilling (2022) showed that nomophobic levels, along with their repercussions on problematic smartphone use, increased from the beginning of the first COVID-19 wave (T1) to the end of the COVID-19 lockdown (T2), highlighting how the addictive outcomes endure longer, even when the pandemic was less widespread; further, Nguyen et al (2022) investigated the effects of nomophobia on stress, also testing the indirect path through loneliness, indicating that the perception of feeling lonely may increase stress in individuals who show nomophobic symptoms.…”

“…Nomophobia has also been related to feelings of loneliness (Arpaci, 2020;Gezgin et al, 2018b;Nguyen et al, 2022). Several studies had previously identified loneliness as a potential risk factor for the development of problematic smartphone and Internet usage or smartphone and Internet addiction, because individuals who self-identify as lonely tend to use their smartphones more frequently, thanks to their benefits of reducing the discomfort of feeling lonely (Bian & Leung, 2014;Billieux, 2012).…”

Mediating effect of social interaction anxiety between emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in physical education students: post-COVID-19 study

“…This increased the daily frequency of technology overuse among university students, especially smartphones ( Bhatnagar et al, 2021 ). This in turn amplified the irrational fear and stress experienced by middle school ( Nguyen et al, 2022 ) and university students ( Zwilling, 2022 ) of being away from a device that facilitates both general communication and attending academic activities, especially in students who struggle to regulate their emotions ( Ercengiz et al, 2020 ; Brown and Medcalf-Bell, 2022 ). Thus, COVID-19 not only comes with a dreadful pathology, but it is also the source of numerous secondary problems, such as becoming addicted to the use of the Internet, social networks and any form of media associated with recent technologies ( Masrek et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Thus, COVID-19 not only comes with a dreadful pathology, but it is also the source of numerous secondary problems, such as becoming addicted to the use of the Internet, social networks and any form of media associated with recent technologies ( Masrek et al, 2022 ). In fact, the disruptive use of smartphones surged from the onset of the first wave of COVID-19 ( Zwilling, 2022 ), thereby increasing the incidence of pathologies such as stress and anxiety ( Nguyen et al, 2022 ), which even doubled in some countries during the first confinement period ( Amerio et al, 2021 ; Medda et al, 2022 ). Therefore, as the amount of time spent on screens (e.g., smartphones, computers, tablets, etc.)…”