Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Jun 2023)
Psychometric Evidence of the Arabic Version of Nomophobia Questionnaire Among Physical Education Students
Abstract
Hilmi Jelleli,1 Omar Hindawi,2 Mahmoud Rebhi,1,3 Mohamed Ben Aissa,1 Mouna Saidane,1,4 Amr Roushdy Saad,5 Noomen Guelmami1,6 1Department of Human and Social Sciences, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba, Tunisia; 2Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Sport Rehabilitation Department, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan; 3Department of Education, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia; 4Department of Health, Higher Institute of Nursing Sciences of Kef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba, Tunisia; 5Faculty of Physical Education of Mansoura, University of Mansoura, Mansoura, Egypt; 6Postgraduate School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, ItalyCorrespondence: Hilmi Jelleli, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Jendouba, Tunisia, Tel +201695537471, Email [email protected]: Nomophobia refers to a psychological state in which individuals experience anxiety or fear at the thought of being disconnected from their mobile phone. The Nomophobia Questionnaire was developed to assess dimensions of nomophobia among native English-speaking populations. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate the Nomophobia Questionnaire in the Tunisian context based on Western Arabic dialects.Methods: This cross-sectional design using a non-probability sampling method was conducted from September 05 to October 06, 2022. A total of 644 participants, with an average age of 21.04 ± 1.59 years, completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and an Arabic version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire. Participants were divided into two groups to perform exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The first group consisted of 200 students (56% female and 44% male with an average age of 21.10 ± 1.64), with 33% (n = 66) freshmen, 41.5% second-year students (n = 83) and 25.5% (n = 51) of third-year students. The second group was collected one month later in the same establishment and was composed of 444 students (52% men and 48% female with an average age of 21.01 ± 1.57).Results: The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 20 items and the second order four-factor structure should be retained. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Arabic version of the NMP-Q gave the following statistics: χ 2/df= 1.47; Fit Index = 0.997; Adjusted goodness-of-fit index = 0.996; Tucker-Lewis index = 1.003; Comparative Fit Index = 1; Root mean square error of approximation = 0.000 (90% CI 0– 0) and standardized mean residual = 0.030, indicating good model fit. McDonald’s ω internal consistency indexes for the four factors, namely giving up convenience, not being able to access information, not being able to communicate, and losing connectedness were 0.821, 0.841, 0.851, and 0.897, respectively. These values demonstrated good scale consistency.Conclusion: The Arabic Version of the Nomophobia questionnaire has been found to be a reliable and valid psychometric tool, and can be effectively used to measure nomophobia in countries where western Arabic dialects are spoken.Keywords: validation, mobile, inconvenience, students, sport
