Examining the Relationship between Phubbing and Mental Health among University Students: A Mixed Study

Abstract

This study aims to examine the association between phubbing in college students and mental health, the dimensions of the association, and the source of this association. The study has the characteristics of an explanatory sequential mixed design, in which qualitative data from mixed designs are interpreted to explain quantitative data. In the quantitative phase of the study, data were collected from 305 participants. In this phase, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, regression analysis, and independent samples t-test were applied to the collected data. In the second phase, in which qualitative data were collected, data were gathered through focus group interviews with 12 participants who had participated in the quantitative phase of the study. In terms of gender, it can be said that female students experience more phobia, anxiety, depression, and stress than male students. According to the results of the qualitative research phase, the participants of the focus group interview indicated that the individuals who exhibit phubbing behaviours are introverted, lonely and abandoned, shy, anxious, poor in communication, and technology dependent. In addition, reasons for interest in smartphones may include relaxation, boredom, avoiding people, escaping stress and depression, escaping negative situations, motivation, following the daily activities of others, or escaping chat environments that do not interest them and that they consider unimportant.

Keywords

• Mental health
• Phubbing
• Depression-Anxiety-Stress

References

1. Ahn, D., & Shin, D. H. (2013). Is the social use of media for seeking connectedness or for avoiding social isolation? Mechanisms underlying media use and subjective well being. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2453–2462. https://doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.022
2. Aboalshamat, K., Jawhari, A., Alzahrani, K. et al. (2017). Relationship of self-esteem with depression, anxiety and stress among dental and medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Journal of İnternational Medicine and Dentistry, 4(2), 61-68.
3. Al-Saggaf, Y., & MacCulloch, R. (2019). Phubbing and social relationships: Results from an Australian sample. Journal of Relationships Research, 10, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1017/jrr.2019.9
4. Al-Saggaf, Y., & O’Donnell, S. B. (2019). The role of state boredom, state of fear of missing out and state loneliness in state phubbing. In the 30th Australasian Conference on Information Systems: ACIS 2019, 214- 221.
5. Arslan, H., Aktar, H., & Danaoğlu, Z. (2011). Miyokard infarktüsü geçiren kişilerde mizaç ve karakter boyutları ve öfke, anksiyete ve depresyon düzeyleri [Temperament and character dimensions and anger, anxiety and depression levels in people with myocardial infarction]. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi, 14, 143-149.
6. Augner, C., & Hacker, G. W. (2012). Associations between problematic mobile phone use and psychological parameters in young adults. International Journal of Public Health, 57(2), 437–441. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0234-z
7. Ayas T., & Horzum M. (2013). Relation between depression, loneliness, self-esteem and internet addiction. Education, 133(3), 283–90.
8. Bakır, V., & Büyükgöze-Kavas, A. (2021). Çocukların kariyer gelişiminde ebeveyn desteği ve sosyo-demografik özelliklerin rolü [The role of parental support and socio-demographic characteristics in children's career development]. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Buca Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 51, 119-136.

9. Ballı, Ş. N. (2020). Üniversite öğrencilerinde sosyotelizmin incelenmesi [Examining sociotelism in university students]. [Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi]. Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Ankara.
10. Balta, S., Emirtekin, E., Kırçaburun, K., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Neuroticism, trait fear of missing out, and phubbing: The mediating role of state fear of missing out and problematic instagram use. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18(3), 628-639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9959-8
11. Baron, N. S., & Campbell, E. M. (2012). Gender and mobile phones in cross-national context. Language Sciences, 34(1), 13–27.
12. Beranuy, M., Oberst, U., Carbonell, X., & Chamarro, A. (2009). Problematic internet and mobile phone use and clinical symptoms in college students: The role of emotional intelligence. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(5), 1182–1187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. chb.2009.03.001
13. Berry, N., Bucci, S., & Lobban, F. (2017a). Use of the internet and Mobile phones for self-Management of Severe Mental Health Problems: Qualitative study of staff views. JMIR Mental Health, 4(4), e52. https://doi. org/ 10. 2196/ mental. 8311
14. Berry, N., Lobban, F., Belousov, M., Emsley, R., Nenadic, G., & Bucci, S. (2017). Understanding why people use twitter to discuss mental health problems. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(4), e107. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.6173
15. Bianchi, A., & Phillips, J. G. (2005). Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use. Cyberpsychology & behavior, 8(1), 39-51.
16. Bilgel, N., & Bayram, N. (2010). Turkish version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS42): Psychometric properties. Archives of Neuropsychiatry, 47, 118-126.
17. Bitar, Z., Akel, M., Salameh, P., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2022). Phubbing among Lebanese young adults: Scale validation and association with mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress). Current Psychology, 1-12.
18. Bitar, Z., Hallit, S., Khansa, W., & Obeid, S. (2021). Phubbing and temperaments among young Lebanese adults: The mediating efect of self-esteem and emotional intelligence. BMC Psychology, 9(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00594-7
19. Błachnio, A., Przepiórka, A., & Pantic, I. (2015). Internet use, Facebook intrusion, and depression: Results of a cross-sectional study. European Psychiatry, 30(6), 681–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. eurpsy.2015.04.002
20. Blanca, M. J., & Bendayan, R. (2018). Spanish version of the Phubbing Scale: internet addiction, Facebook intrusion, and fear of missing out as correlates. Psicothema, 30(4), 449-454.
21. Brown, T. A., Chorpita, B. F., Korotitsch, W., & Barlow, D. H. (1997). Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) in clinical samples. Behaviour research and therapy, 35(1), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(96)00068-X
22. Caplan, S. E. (2002). Problematic internet use and psychosocial well being: Development of a theorybased cognitive behavioural measurement instrument. Computers in Human Behaviour, 18, 553–575.
23. Caplan, S. E. (2007). Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10(2), 234–242. https:// doi. org/10. 1089/ cpb. 2006. 9963
24. Charlton J. P., & Danforth I. D. W. (2010). Validating the distinction between computer addiction and engagement: Online game playing and personality. Behaviour & Information Technology, 29, 601–613. https:// doi. org/10.1080/01449290903401978
25. Chatterjee, S. (2020). Antecedents of phubbing: from technological and psychological perspectives. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 22(2), 161–178.
26. Chotpitayasunondh, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2016). How “phubbing” becomes the norm: The antecedents and consequences of snubbing via smartphone. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 9–18.
27. Chotpitayasunondh, V., & Douglas, K. M. (2018). Measuring phone snubbing behavior: Development and validation of the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP). Computers in Human Behavior, 88, 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.06.020
28. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
29. Davey, S., Davey, A., Raghav, S. K., Singh, J. V., Singh, N., Blachnio, A., & Przepiórkaa, A. (2018). Predictors and consequences of “phubbing” among adolescents and youth in India: An impact evaluation study. Journal of Family & Community Medicine, 25(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_71_17
30. Demirci, K., Akgönül, M., & Akpinar, A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.010
31. Deringöl, Y., Yaman, Y., Özsarı, İ., & Gülten, D. Ç. (2010). İlköğretim öğretmen adaylarının meraklılık düzeylerinin incelenmesi [Examining the curiosity levels of primary school teacher candidates]. International Conference on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 11-13, 492-497.
32. Donovan, J. E. (2004). Adolescent alcohol initiation: A review of psychosocial risk factors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 35(6), 529. e7–529.e18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.02.003
33. Duradoni, M., Innocenti, F., & Guazzini, A. (2020). Well-being and social media: A systematic review of Bergen addiction scales. Future Internet, 12(2), 24. https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ fi120 20024
34. Dyrbye, L. N., Thomas, M. R., Shanafelt, T. D. (2006). Systematic review of depression, anxiety, and other ındicators of psychological distress among U.S. and Canadian Medical Students. Acad Med, 81, 354-373.
35. Ergün, N., Göksu, İ., & Sakız, H. (2019). Effects of Phubbing: Relationships with psychodemographic variables. Psychological Reports, 123(5), 1578–1613. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0033294119889581
36. Fang, J., Wang, X., Wen, Z., & Zhou, J. (2020). Fear of missing out and problematic social media use as mediators between emotional support from social media and phubbing behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 107, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106430
37. Fernández, C., Vicente, M. A., Carrillo, I., Guilabert, M., & Mira, J. J. (2020). Factors Infuencing the Smartphone Usage Behavior of Pedestrians: Observational Study on “Spanish Smombies”. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e19350. https://doi.org/ 10.2196/19350
38. Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., Van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G., & De Marez, L. (2018). Fear of missing out as a predictor of problematic social media use and phubbing behavior among Flemish adolescents. International Journal Of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102319
39. Gavcar, E. G. (2023). Ebeveyn phubbıng (sosyotelizm) davranışının çocuk ve ergenlerin ruh sağlığı üzerine etkileri [Effects of parental phubbing behavior on the mental health of children and adolescents]. Akademik Çalışmalar-II, 49-64.
40. Gezgin, D. M. (2019). Gelişen teknolojinin Türkiye’de üniversite öğrencileri üzerindeki sosyopsikolojik etkileri [Sociopsychological effects of developing technology on university students in Turkey]. Cataloging-In-Publication Data, 238.
41. Guazzini, A., Duradoni, M., Capelli, A., & Meringolo, P. (2019). An explorative model to assess individuals’ phubbing risk. Future Internet, 11(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11010021
42. Guazzini, A., Raimondi, T., Biagini, B., Bagnoli, F., & Duradoni, M. (2021). Phubber’s emotional activations: The association between PANAS and phubbing behavior. Future Internet, 13(12), 311. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13120311
43. Ha, J. H., Yoo, H. J., Cho, I. H., Chin, B., Shin, D., & Kim, J. H. (2006). Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67, 821–826.
44. Henry, J. D., & Crawford, J. R. (2005). The short‐ form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS‐ 21): Construct validity and normative data in a large non‐ clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(2), 227-239. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466505X29657
45. Ivanova, A., Gorbaniuk, O., Błachnio, A., Przepiórka, A., Mraka, N., Polishchuk, V., & Gorbaniuk, J. (2020). Mobile phone addiction, phubbing, and depression among men and women: A moderated mediation analysis. Psychiatric Quarterly, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09723-8
46. Karadaǧ, E., Tosuntaş, Ş. B., Erzen, E., Duru, P., Bostan, N., Şahin, B. M., Çulha, I., & Babadaǧ, B. (2015). Determinants of phubbing, which is the sum of many virtual addictions: A structural equation model. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 60–74. https://doi. org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.005
47. Karadağ, E., Tosuntaş, Ş. B., Erzen, E., Duru, P., Bostan, N., Mızrak-Şahin, B., Çulha, İ. ve Babadağ, B. (2016). Sanal dünyanın kronolojik bağımlılığı: Sosyotelizm [The virtual world’s current addiction: Phubbing]. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 3(2), 250-269.
48. Latifa, R., Mumtaz, E. F., & Subchi, I. (2019). Psychological explanation of phubbing behavior: Smartphone addiction, emphaty and self control. In 2019 7th International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM) (Vol. 7, pp. 1-5). IEEE.
49. Li, G., Hou, G., Yang, D., Jian, H., & Wang, W. (2019). Relationship between anxiety, depression, sex, obesity, and internet addiction in Chinese adolescents: A short-term longitudinal study. Addictive Behaviors, 90, 421–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.12.009
50. Liao, P. C., Chen, S. K., & Lin, S. S. J. (2018). Latent profles of stress and their relationships with depression and problematic Internet use among college freshmen. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 59(6), 621–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12489
51. Lovibond, P. F. & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour research and therapy, 33(3), 335-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U
52. Mahmoud, J. S. R., Staten, R. T., Hall, L. A., & Lennie, T. A. (2012). The relationship among young adult college students’ depression, anxiety, stress, demographics, life satisfaction, and coping styles. Issues in mental health nursing, 33(3), 149-156.
53. Mamun, M. A., Hossain, M. S., Siddique, A. B., Sikder, M. T., Kuss, D. J., & Grifths, M. D. (2019). Problematic internet use in Bangladeshi students: The role of socio-demographic factors, depression, anxiety, and stress. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 44(June), 48–54. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.07.005
54. McDaniel, B. T., & Coyne, S. M. (2016). Technoference: The interference of technology in couple relationships and implications for women’s personal and relational well-being. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(1), 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/ ppm0000065
55. Natoli, A.P., Nelson, S.M., Lengu, K.J., Huprich, S.K. (2016). Sensitivity to criticism differentially mediates the relationship between interpersonal problems and state and trait depression. Pers. Ment. Health 10(4), 293–304.
56. Nazir, T., & Pişkin, M. (2016). Phubbing: A technological invasion which connected the world but disconnected humans. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 3(4), 175-182.
57. Odacı, H., & Çıkrıkçı, Ö. (2021). Dysfunctional attitudes as a mediator in the association between problematic ınternet use and depression anxiety and stress. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-021-00394-3
58. Öncü, B., Şahin, T., Özdemir, S., Şahin, C., Çakır, K. & Öcal, E. (2013). Tıp fakültesi öğrencilerinde depresyon, anksiyete ve stres düzeyleri ve ilişkili etmenler [Depression, anxiety and stress levels and related factors in medical school students]. Kriz Dergisi, 21(1), 1-10. https://doi: 10.1501/Kriz_0000000333
59. Patton, M. Q. (2014). Nitel araştırma ve değerlendirme yöntemleri (M. Bütün ve B. Demir, Çev.). Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
60. Phing, A. M., Xin, C. Y., & Jun, L. P. (2019). The impact of loneliness and fear of missing out in predicting phubbing behaviour among undergraduates in Malaysia. 75.
61. Przybylski, A. K., and N. Weinstein. (2013). Can you Connect with Me Now? How the Presence of Mobile Communication Technology Influences Face-to-Face Conversation Quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30 (3), 237–246. https://doi:10.1177/ 0265407512453827
62. Revilla, M., Cornilleau, A., Cousteaux, A. S., Legleye, S., & de Pedraza, P. (2016). What is the gain in a probability-based online panel of providing internet access to sampling units who previously had no access? Social Science Computer Review, 34(4), 479–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439315590206
63. Rizvi, F., Qureshi, A., Rajput, A. M., Afzal, M. (2015). Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress (by DASS Scoring System) among Medical Students in Islamabad, Pakistan. BJMMR, 8(1), 69-75.
64. Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E. (2016). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 134-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.058
65. Roh, M. S., Jeon, H. J., Kim, H., Han, S. K., Hahm, B. J. (2010). The Prevalence and Impact of Depression Among Medical Students: A Nation wide Cross-Sectional Study in South Korea. Academic Medicine, 85, 1384-1390.
66. Sun, J., & Samp, J. A. (2022). Phubbing is happening to you: Examining predictors and efects of phubbing behaviour in friendships. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10. 1080/0144929X.2021.1943711
67. Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics. (Sixth Ed.), Boston: Pearson.
68. Thomée, S., Härenstam, A., & Hagberg, M. (2011). Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults—A prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 66. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-66
69. T'ng, S. T., Ho, K. H., & Low, S. K. (2018). Are you “phubbing” me? The determinants of phubbing behavior and assessment of measurement invariance across sex differences. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2), 159-190.
70. Tran, B. X., Mai, H. T., Nguyen, L. H., Nguyen, C. T., Latkin, C. A., Zhang, M. W. B., & Ho, R. C. M. (2017). Vietnamese validation of the short version of internet addiction test. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 6, 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2017.07.001
71. Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books
72. Üstün, A., Bayar, A. (2015). Üniversite öğrencilerinin depresyon, anksiyete ve stres düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelenmesi [Examining depression, anxiety and stress levels of university students according to various variables]. Eğitim ve Öğretim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(1), 384-390.
73. Vally, Z. (2019). Generalized problematic Internet use, depression, and explicit self-esteem: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates. Neurology. Psychiatry and Brain Research, 33(June), 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npbr.2019.07.002
74. Verma, S., Kumar, R., & Yadav, S. K. (2019). The determinants of phubbing behaviour: a millenials perspective. International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering (IJITEE), 8(125), 806-812.
75. Wang, X., Xie, X., Wang, Y., Wang, P., & Lei, L. (2017). Partner phubbing and depression among married Chinese adults: The roles of relationship satisfaction and relationship length. Personality and Individual Differences, 110, 12–17.
76. Wang, X., Zhao, F., Lei, L. (2019). Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction: self-esteem and marital status as moderators. Curr. Psychol., 1–11.
77. Weinstein A., Lejoyeux M. (2010). Internet addiction or excessive internet use. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36, 277–283. https://doi:10.3109/00952990.2010.491880
78. Wood, A. W., Loughran, S. P., & Stough, C. (2006). Does evening exposure to mobile phone radiation afect subsequent melatonin production? International Journal of Radiation Biology, 82(2), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/09553000600599775
79. Yen, J.-Y., Yen, C.-F., Chen, C.-S., Wang, P.-W., Chang, Y.-H., & Ko, C.-H. (2012). Social anxiety in online and real-life interaction and their associated factors. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 15(1), 7–12. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1089/ cyber. 2011. 0015
80. Yılmaz, Ö., Boz, H.,, & Arslan, A. (2017). Depresyon Anksiyete Stres Ölçeğinin (Dass 21) Türkçe kısa formunun geçerlilik-güvenilirlik çalışması [Validity-reliability study of the Turkish short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (Dass 21)]. Finans Ekonomi ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 2(2), 78-91.
81. Zarghami, M., Khalilian, A., Setareh, J., & Salehpour, G. (2015). The impact of using cell phones after light-out on sleep quality, headache, tiredness, and distractibility among students of a University in North of Iran. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 9(4), e2010. https://doi.org/10.17795/ijpbs-2010
82. Zonash, R., Saghir, S., Ahsan, R., Murtaza, S. (2020). Phubbing behavior and romantic relationship: mechanism of mental health among married couples. Found. Univ. J. Psychol. 4(1), 103–137.