Problematic use of mobile phone and nomophobia among French college students

Introduction Identify problematic use of mobile phone (MP), nomophobia (« No mobile phone phobia ») and associated behaviors among French college students. Methods During the 2013–2014 university period, students from Upper-Normandy (France) filled in a self-administered anonymous questionnaire that has collected information on the ownership of smartphone and frequency of use of the MP (calling, texting and surfing the web). Frequency of awakenings at night by the MP, demands on availability by the entourage, perceived stressfulness of accessibility, and the anxiety caused by non-availability of a MP for a day (nomophobia) were measured with a 4-point Likert scale and comments of closed ones regarding too much time of MP use (Yes/No) were also collected. The students of the first quartile of score (≥7/13) were compared with other students. Results A total of 760 students have been included, the sex ratio (M:F) was of 0.44 and the mean age was of 20.0 years (SD = 2.4). 79.6% of the students had a smartphone. 12.3% of the students declared being woken up by their MP several times during the month, 13.6% must to be reachable 24/7, this accessibility was stressful for 11.3% of students, 31.3% were anxious caused by non-availability of a MP for 24 hours and 30.4% spent too much time on their MP. A higher score (Q1) was significantly associated with females gender AOR = 2.71 [1.55-4.74], cyberaddiction AOR = 3,68 [2,18-6.23], insomnia AOR = 3,19 [1.72-5.91] and high frequency of texting and duration of calling (respectively AOR = 2.53 (1.62-3.97) and AOR = 1.84 (1.19-2.85)). Conclusion Almost one in three college students suffered from nomophobia. The problematic use of the MP particularly affected women and was associated with cyberaddiction and sleeping problems. It would be interesting to assess how increased use of MP might negatively impact academic performance, mental health, and subjective well-being. Key messages Problematic use of mobile phone is associated with other risk behaviors One third of college students suffers from nomophobia