Abstract
Background and aims: Research examining problematic mobile phone use has increased markedly over the past 5 years and has been related to "no mobile phone phobia" (so-called nomophobia). The 20-item Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) is the only instrument that assesses nomophobia with an underlying theoretical structure and robust psychometric testing. This study aimed to confirm the construct validity of the Persian NMP-Q using Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models. Methods: After ensuring the linguistic validity, Rasch models were used to examine the unidimensionality of each Persian NMP-Q factor among 3, 216 Iranian adolescents and CFAs were used to confirm its four-factor structure. Differential item functioning (DIF) and multigroup CFA were used to examine whether males and females interpreted the NMP-Q similarly, including item content and NMP-Q structure. Results: Each factor was unidimensional according to the Rach findings, and the four-factor structure was supported by CFA. Two items did not quite fit the Rasch models (Item 14: "I would be nervous because I could not know if someone had tried to get a hold of me;" Item 9: "If I could not check my smartphone for a while, I would feel a desire to check it "). No DIF items were found across gender and measurement invariance was supported in multigroup CFA across gender. Conclusions: Due to the satisfactory psychometric properties, it is concluded that the Persian NMP-Q can be used to assess nomophobia among adolescents. Moreover, NMP-Q users may compare its scores between genders in the knowledge that there are no score differences contributed by different understandings of NMP-Q items.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 100-108 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Behavioral Addictions |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2018 |
Keywords
- Mobile phone addiction
- Mobile phone dependence
- Nomophobia
- Rasch
- Smartphone addiction
- Smartphone dependence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health