Nomophobia and the Values Recognized by Physical Education Students

Purpose: The study aimed to determine the level of nomophobia and to find out the values recognized by first-year students of the Faculty of Physical Education. Method: The study, conducted in 2024, involved 171 students of a sports college. The study group consisted of 116 men and 55 women, and the average age of the study subjects was 19.95±1.58 years. To collect empirical material, two standardized tools, the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) by C. Yildirim and A. Correia adapted by M.W. Czerski (2021) and Scheler’s Hierarchy of Values adapted by P. Brzozowski (1995), were used. Results: The study participants have shown varying levels of nomophobia, but no significant differences in the level of nomophobia were observed between female and male students (χ2= 5.64; P= .06; Vc= .18). The highest percentage of women and men were in the moderate and low range groups. However, significantly greater test scores were obtained by women in the NMP-Q (F1,167= 6.05; P= .015; ƞ2= .035). No significant differences were found between athletes and non-athletes in the four analyzed nomophobia factors (F1,167 = .13; P= .72; ƞ2 < .001). The highest ranked value in the students surveyed is physical fitness and strength, while holy values and religious sanctities are the least important. Conclusions: Separation anxiety in relation to the smartphone does not affect most of the students surveyed. Gender differentiates the severity of nomophobia (results of scores). Cultivation of values related to physical culture is characteristic of the studied group. Participation in sports does not differentiate the results in terms of the values recognized by female and male physical education students.