The Association between Symptoms of Nomophobia, Insomnia and Food Addiction among Young Adults: Findings of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

Haitham Jahrami, Ammar Abdelaziz, Latifa Binsanad, Omar A. Alhaj, Mohamed Buheji, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Zahra Saif, Ahmed S. BaHammam and Michael V. Vitiello
Additional contact information
Haitham Jahrami: Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain
Ammar Abdelaziz: The Walton Centre, Neurology Department, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, NHS, Liverpool L9 7LJ, UK
Latifa Binsanad: College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
Omar A. Alhaj: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Science, University of Petra, Amman 11196, Jordan
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi: Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Departments and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Zahra Saif: Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain
Ahmed S. BaHammam: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University Sleep Disorders Center, King Saud University, Box 225503, Riyadh 11324, Saudi Arabia
Michael V. Vitiello: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, and Biobehavioral Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-6560, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: No previous research has examined the association between symptoms of nomophobia and food addiction. Similarly, only a few studies have examined the association between nomophobia and symptoms of insomnia. This exploratory study utilized an online self-administered, structured questionnaire that included: basic sociodemographic and anthropometrics; the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q); the insomnia severity index (ISI); and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) in a convenience sample of young adults (18–35 years) in Bahrain ( n = 654), 304 (46%) males and 350 (54%) females. Symptoms of severe nomophobia, moderate-severe insomnia, and food addiction were more common among female participants both for each disorder separately and in combination; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. For severe nomophobia, the rate for females was 76 (21.7%) and for males was 57 (18.8%) p = 0.9. For moderate-severe insomnia, the rate for females was 56 (16%) and for males was 36 (11.84%) p = 0.1. For food addiction, the rate for females was 71 (20.29%) and for males was 53 (17.43%) p = 0.3. A statistically significant association was present between nomophobia and insomnia r = 0.60, p < 0.001. No association was found between nomophobia and food addiction. Nomophobia is very common in young adults, particularly in females; nomophobia is associated with insomnia but not with food addiction.

Keywords: behavioral addiction; food addiction; internet addiction; sleep difficulties; sleep problems; smartphone addiction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:711-:d:480937

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