Development of Indigenous Scale of Nomophobia, Urdu Version

Abstract

Nomophobia is the fear of being without one's mobile phone, and it is considered a modern phobia that has evolved as a result of people's involvement with mobile information and communication technologies, particularly smartphones. In this study, a questionnaire to evaluate nomophobia was devised, and its psychometric features were established while keeping Pakistani cultural norms in mind. As a result, the considerable literature on Nomophobia was researched and evolved into a nomophobia questionnaire. The investigation was divided into three stages. Items were constructed during the first stage based on literature and DSM-V Nomophobia criteria. The second stage comprised the evaluation of items by experts. At the third step, pilot testing was carried out. A total of 55 items from the first version of the Nomophobia Scale were presented to a panel of 5 experts in the relevant field (Two PhD Doctors and Three PhD Scholars in Psychology) for content validity. Following expert approval, the newly developed "Nomophobia Scale" was tested on 150 university students aged 18 to 26 (75 male & 75 female) to assess its usefulness and any potential ambiguities. To collect data, the first generation of the Nomophobia Scale with 55 items was employed. Initial results revealed that the scale has a strong internal consistency, according to the pilot study, with a Cronbach's alpha score of .90. EFA and CFA were used to complete the underlying structure for the newly developed Nomophobia scale. For EFA and CFA, convenient sampling was used to choose a sample of 500 participants (Male =250; Female = 250) ranging in age from 18 to 26 years. Exploratory factor analysis validated a structure of 4 factors with 40 items. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to verify the structure obtained from EFA, and the model demonstrated a satisfactory fit with (chi-square = 614.130, df = 146, CFI = .964, RMSEA = .073, and GFI = .900). The research has clinical and counseling significance; a common issue can be tackled with the existing scale.