Evaluation of the factor structure of the Chinese version of the nomophobia questionnaire

Abstract

Nomophobia refers to the fear of being out of mobile phone contact or being unreachable through one’s mobile phone. As this is a newly researched phenomenon, a great deal of effort is needed to understand the underlying structure of nomophobia and how it develops. The current study aimed to take the first step in evaluating the factor structure of a Chinese version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The participants consisted of 966 college students sampled using a combination of convenience and random methods. The NMP-Q was translated into Chinese, and exploratory factor analysis was carried out using a principal component method with Varimax rotation; subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis was performed. The findings showed that a four-factor model consisting of 20 items constituted the best fit for the data collected from our sample. These findings provide support for the robustness of the structure of the NMP-Q through cross-cultural validation. The Chinese version of the NMP-Q seems to be appropriate as an effective questionnaire to assess nomophobic behavior among college students.