Effect of nomophobia on the anxiety levels of undergraduate students

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of restricting mobile phone use with time on the anxiety levels of undergraduate students having moderate nomophobia. The study also aimed to find whether cognitive and sensory distractions within the environment could delay anxious thoughts and subsequent rise in anxiety levels. Method: Current research was based on a quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent control group, i.e., the participants were not randomly assigned to groups. The participants were 64 undergraduate students taken from a university located in Islamabad. The State trait anxiety inventory (STAI) and Nomophobia questionnaire (NMPQ) were used. The study was carried out between August to December 2017. The data collected was analysed using general linear model to see the significant effect of time and treatment on the state anxiety levels at different time intervals. Result: The findings from multivariate analysis revealed that the state anxiety increased significantly with time in participants having moderate nomophobia and who were not in contact with their mobile phones as hypothesized. However, cognitive and sensory distractions could only slightly delay the anxiety in fearful situations. Conclusion: There is a significant effect of time and nomophobia on anxiety level of students who are separated from their mobile phone within the usual cognitive and sensory distractions in academic setting.