Nomophobia in the association between sport anxiety and happiness: Evidence from a cross-sectional mediation model

This study examines the relationship between sport anxiety and happiness by focusing on the mediating role of nomophobia among university students. Grounded in the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and Uses and Gratifications Theory, the study uses these theoretical perspectives only as conceptual frameworks for interpreting the observed statistical associations. The sample consists of 390 undergraduate students (48.2% female, 51.8% male; all participants were aged 18 years or older) enrolled in Faculties of Sport Sciences. Data were collected using the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), the Nomophobia Scale (NMP-Q), and the Happiness Scale. Mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples to test indirect effects. The findings indicate that sport anxiety is significantly negatively associated with happiness while being positively associated with levels of nomophobia. In contrast, nomophobia shows a significant positive association with happiness. The mediation results reveal a significant indirect effect, indicating a competitive mediation pattern. Specifically, while sport anxiety is directly associated with lower levels of happiness, it is also indirectly associated with higher levels of happiness through higher nomophobia scores. These findings suggest that the observed statistical pattern may be compatible with a compensatory interpretation of nomophobia. However, because of the cross-sectional design, this interpretation should be regarded as a possible explanation rather than evidence of an underlying psychological process. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting the complexity of the statistical associations among sport anxiety, nomophobia, and happiness.