Abstract
Nomophobia is the fear feeling unable to communicate via mobile phone or the Internet, which is very common in the technical world. The study aimed to explore the effect of neuroticism on nomophobia among Chinese college students, and the chain mediating effect of attachment and loneliness. One thousand two hundred and twenty-eight Chinese college students were surveyed using the Revised Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), Solitude Behavior Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (ECR), and Nomophobia Questionnaire, all in Chinese version. Results showed that (1) neuroticism, loneliness, attachment anxiety, and nomophobia were positively correlated with each other. Attachment avoidance was not significantly correlated with neuroticism, loneliness, and nomophobia. (2) Neuroticism directly positively predicted nomophobia. (3) Attachment anxiety and loneliness sequentially played a chain intermediary role in the relationship between neuroticism and nomophobia. (4) At different levels of attachment avoidance, the chain mediating models had differences in the subdimension of nomophobia—losing Internet connection (especially social media). In conclusion, the study revealed that attachment and loneliness played a chain mediating role between neuroticism and nomophobia, providing empirical evidence for future researches and interventions among the college students.
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This work was supported by the Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education, China (18YJC190013).
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Sun, Y., Yang, J., Li, M. et al. The Association Between Neuroticism and Nomophobia: Chain Mediating Effect of Attachment and Loneliness. Int J Ment Health Addiction 22, 685–702 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00897-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00897-9