A Descriptive Study To Assess The Correlation Between Nomophobia, Insomnia And Self-Esteem On Smartphone Addiction Among Students Of Selected Nursing College In Cuttack, Odisha

Background: Smartphones have become an integral part of the human race, enhancing various aspects of life. However, disconnecting from smartphone may lead to psychological distress, a condition called nomophobia. Lack of concern on problematic smartphone use always had a detrimental influence on mental health. Objective: The objective was to assess the prevalence and explore correlation between nomophobia, insomnia, self esteem and smartphone addiction among nursing students. Method: A structured e-survey collected data from 350 students in a population of 510, and a sample size (N=220) with an age range of 17-25 years; 86.4% female was considered using systematic random sampling. Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMPQ), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES), and Smartphone Addiction Scale-short version (SAS-SV) following standardized questionnaire tools based on Likert scale were introduced to participants to investigate the prevalence. Results: The results indicate moderate nomophobia as measured as NMPQ (75.04), sub-threshold insomnia levels based on ISI (8.04), normal self-esteem assessed using RSES (20.49), and moderately risky smartphone addiction determined by SAS-SV (29.14) among nursing students. Notably, females aged 17-22 years were more affected by these conditions. About 61% students in total were found with smartphone addiction. Furthermore, the study predicted the prevalence of high-risk categories among students: 20.9% for nomophobia, 4.1% for insomnia, and 13.6% for smartphone addiction. Additionally, 48.6% of students exhibited high self-esteem. Pearson correlation analysis revealed moderate and low positive statistically significant correlations between SAS-SV and both, NMPQ (r = .560, p < .001) and ISI (r = .363, p < .001). However, there was no significant correlation found between SAS-SV and RSES. Conclusion: Most students use smart phones for learning, entertainment, and social media browsing, but overuse is a concern. The results supported the assumptions that nomophobia is caused by smartphone addiction, and it has a mediated association with insomnia. This is related to mood disturbances and unusual lifestyle. However, no significant association with self-esteem was established. To recommend, we suggested “nomophobia mediation controller framework” as a prevention model.