Nomophobia as a Mediator Between Smartphone Use and Cyberloafing in University Students: A Descriptive Study

Objective: This study investigates the mediating role of nomophobia (the fear of being without access to one’s smart-phone) in the relationship between smartphone usage duration and cyberloafing behaviors in the classroom among university students.

Methods: This cross-sectional correlational study, which also employed descriptive analyses, included 413 undergraduate students from Sivas Cumhuriyet University. Data were collected via Google Forms between February and March 2025 using the Nomophobia Scale and the Smartphone Cyberloafing Scale. Both scales demonstrated high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α values of 0.921 and 0.939, respectively. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and regression-based mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples were performed.

Results: The mean scores were M = 3.54 (SD = 0.89) for smartphone usage, M = 3.06 (SD = 0.79) for nomophobia, and M = 2.36 (SD = 0.99) for cyberloafing. Smartphone usage was positively correlated with nomophobia (r = 0.210, P < .01) and cyberloafing (r = 0.172, P < .01), while nomophobia was moderately correlated with cyberloafing (r = 0.289, P < .01). Smartphone usage predicted nomophobia (β = 0.298, P < .001) and cyberloafing (β = 0.193, P < .001). With nomophobia included, both variables remained significant (β = 0.148; β = 0.151, P < .001). The indirect effect was significant (β = 0.045), accounting for 23% of the total effect.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that smartphone usage is directly associated with increased cyberloafing and indirectly associated through nomophobia, supporting a partial mediation model.

Cite this article as: Ari F. Nomophobia as a mediator between smartphone use and cyberloafing in university students. Arch Health Sci Res. 2026, 13, 0170, doi: 10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2026.25294.