Nomophobia and Self-Esteem: A Cross Sectional Study in Greek University Students

Nomophobia is a relatively new term describing someone’s fear, discomfort, or anxiety when his/her smartphone is not available. It is reported that low self-esteem may contribute to an individual’s tendency for nomophobia. The aim of this particular study was to investigate the association between nomophobia and self-esteem among Greek university students. The study sample consisted of 1060 male and female university students aged 18 to 25 years, participating on a voluntary basis with an online anonymous questionnaire. Data were collected through “Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q)” and “Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale (RSES)”. All participants exhibited some level of nomophobia, with the moderate level prevailing (59.6%). Regarding self-esteem categories, 18.7% of the participants showed low self-esteem, while the rest showed normal/high levels. Students with low self-esteem were twice as likely to exhibit a higher level of nomophobia compared to those with normal/high (adj Cum OR = 1.99, p value < 0.001). Additionally, women and students having fathers without a university education had a higher risk of exhibiting a greater level of nomophobia (adj Cum OR = 1.56 and 1.44, respectively, p values ≤ 0.008). It was observed that low self-esteem and nomophobia are closely connected. Further investigation into this particular issue is needed to explore potential causality between them.