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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