The interplay of nomophobia, academic distress, and introverted personality on academic practices and achievements among students at Dilla, Hawassa, and Wachamo Universities

The present study aimed to examine the impacts of nomophobia, academic distress, and introverted personality on academic practice and achievement university students. To address this, the researchers formulated four research questions and employed a mixed research approach of correlational design. Both stratified and simple random sampling techniques were applied and a sample of 432 participants were collected by including 10% contingency from a total student population of 17,280. Additionally, nine teachers were purposively selected for interviews. The data collection process involved gathering both primary and secondary data from various sources. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25 being employed as the analytical tool. The first and second research questions were analyzed by multiple regression, and the third and the fourth questions by ANOVA. The study's findings revealed the extent of nomophobia, academic distress, and introverted personality had a statistically significant impact on academic practice and achievement, there was a significant difference in academic practice between male and female students, while no significant difference was observed in academic achievement between genders. To address these issues, the government, parents, university teachers and counselors, should take responsibility for implementing measures to support students in these areas by implement targeted interventions such as workshops on healthy smartphone usage, stress management programs, and tailored resources for introverted students. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to examine the long-term impacts of nomophobia, academic distress, and introverted personality on academic achievement.