Nomophobia Profiles Among High School and College Students: A Multi-Group Latent Profile Analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Nomophobia, a novel form of problematic mobile phone use, causes distress when smartphone access is limited.
• Existing research primarily uses a variable-centered approach, potentially overlooking subgroup heterogeneity.
• Understanding nomophobia subgroups is crucial for developing targeted therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze latent profiles of nomophobia among high school and college students.
• To examine the cross-group similarity of nomophobia profiles across different educational stages.
• To inform the development of tailored interventions for nomophobia in educational settings.

Main Methods:

• Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed independently for high school (N=446) and college (N=667) student samples.
• Multi-group LPA was utilized to assess the similarity of nomophobia profiles across educational levels.
• Model fit indices were used to determine the optimal number of latent profiles.

Main Results:

• A three-profile solution (high, moderate, and low nomophobia) was consistently identified in both high school and college student groups.
• Multi-group LPA indicated partial support for the similarity of nomophobia profiles across educational stages (configural and dispersion similarity).
• Despite similar profile structures, partial equivalence suggests that nomophobia interventions may not be universally effective across all student populations.

Conclusions:

• Nomophobia exhibits a similar latent structure across high school and college students, with distinct high, moderate, and low profiles.
• The partial cross-stage similarity highlights the need for nuanced, rather than universal, intervention strategies.
• Further research is recommended to explore the underlying mechanisms of student nomophobia profiles and guide differentiated interventions.