The psychometric properties of the Bangla Nomophobia Questionnaire

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nomophobia (the fear of being without a mobile phone or being unable to use it) is an area of growing research interest. The 20-item Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) is the most popular instrument to assess nomophobia. However, there is no validated scale to assess nomophobia in Bangladesh. The present study translated and validated the NMP-Q into Bangla. A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted among 585 university students. The study collected data on socio-demographics, behavioural health, academic attainment, nomophobia, smartphone addiction, and Facebook addiction. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the scale’s factor structure. The four-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Cronbach alphas were 0.915 for the total scale, 0.88 for Factor 1 (not being able to communicate), 0.83 for Factor 2 (losing connectedness), 0.71 for Factor 3 (not being able to access information), and 0.78 for Factor 4 (giving up convenience). Convergent validity was supported by significant associations between nomophobia and both smartphone addiction and Facebook addiction. Measurement invariance across gender was supported in multigroup CFA. The findings indicated that the NMP-Q Bangla appears to be a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument and can be used for further studies to assess nomophobia among Bangladeshi students.