Addicted to cellphones: exploring the psychometric properties between the nomophobia questionnaire and obsessiveness in college students

Abstract

A potential new clinical disorder is arising due to the addiction to cellphones called nomophobia—or feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals when they are unable to use their mobile phones or utilize the conveniences these devices provide. However, before being able to officially classify this disorder as clinically relevant, more research needs to be conducted to determine how nomophobia relates to existing disorders. In a sample of 397 undergraduate students, the present study examined the relationship between the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and the Obsessiveness Content Scale (OBS) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (the MMPI-2). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test whether the OBS Content Scale would be related to a one-factor NMP-Q solution ( Fig. 1) or a four-factor NMP-Q solution ( Fig. 2). Convergent and divergent validity were also investigated. The four-factor model was a better fit than the one-factor model as indicated by most fit indices. The findings showed that the OBS latent variable was correlated with all of the four NMP-Q latent variables. Mixed support was found for convergent validity, but high support was found for the divergent validity of the NMP-Q factors. This study contributes to a growing body of literature seeking to better understand the addictive nature of cellphones and takes a new perspective on addiction research and obsessiveness. These findings provide a better understanding between pre-existing assessments of personality disorders (e.g., obsessiveness) that are emerging from the overuse of mobile phones or the excessive fear of losing one's cell phone.