Nomophobia (No Mobile Phone Phobia) and Psychological Health Issues among Young Adult Students.

BACKGROUND: Smart phone use has become a part of people's everyday life. However, when the lack of using the smart phone to establish and maintain electronic communication is related to psychological distress, such a behavior may be considered a modern-age phobia, or nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia). The aims of the present study were to investigate among a sample of young adults the associations between scores for nomophobia and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. METHODS: A total of 537 students (mean age: 25.52 years; 42.3% females) participated in the study. They completed a booklet of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information and symptoms of nomophobia, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. RESULTS: Higher scores for nomophobia were associated with higher scores for depression, anxiety, and stress, but not with scores for insomnia and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The regression model confirmed that symptoms of anxiety predicted nomophobia. CONCLUSIONS: The present results support the assumption that nomophobia appears to be a mood disturbance related to stronger associations with symptoms of anxiety and, to a lesser extent, with symptoms of depression and stress. By contrast, nomophobia appeared to be unrelated to insomnia and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Risk-Taking Behavior among Suicide Attempters.

BACKGROUND: Suicidal behavior is a major mental health concern both for the individual and for the public health. Among others, suicidal behavior is associated with impulsivity, risk taking, pain tolerance, and a state of overarousal. In the present study, we investigated if suicide attempters (SAs) reported higher scores for risk-taking when compared with healthy controls (HC) of the general population. METHODS: A total of 616 individuals (mean age: 27.07 years; 51.5% females) took part in the study; of those, 240 (39%) were individuals with a suicide attempt (SA) within a time lapse of one to three months, and 376 (61%) were healthy controls (HC). Participants completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, risk-taking (Risk-Taking Questionnaire 18; RT-18), and suicidal behavior (Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised; SBQ-R). RESULTS: Compared with HCs, individuals with SA reported higher risk-taking and suicidal behavior scores. The risk-taking questionnaire yielded a four-factor solution: Thrill and sensation seeking; Cautious procedure; Cautious decision making; Impulsive behavior. Compared with HCs, SAs showed the highest scores for thrill and sensation seeking and impulsive behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with healthy controls, individuals reporting a recent suicide attempt also reported a higher propensity to thrill and sensation seeking and impulsive behavior as a proxy of risk-taking behavior. The present results corroborate the notion that, among others, suicide attempts appeared to be less related to premeditation, but rather to impulsive and thus spontaneous behavior.

Sources of Sleep Disturbances and Psychological Strain for Hospital Staff Working during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Hospital staff members reported increased stress-related workload when caring for inpatients with COVID-19 ("frontline hospital staff members"). Here, we tested if depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with poor sleep and lower general health, and if social support mediated these associations. Furthermore, we compared current insomnia scores and general health scores with normative data. A total of 321 full-time frontline hospital staff members (mean age: 36.86; 58% females) took part in the study during the COVID-19 pandemic. They completed a series of questionnaires covering demographic and work-related information, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, social support, self-efficacy, and symptoms of insomnia and general health. Higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with higher symptoms of insomnia and lower general health. Higher scores of depression, anxiety, and stress directly predicted higher insomnia scores and lower general health scores, while the indirect effect of social support was modest. Compared to normative data, full-time frontline hospital staff members had a 3.14 higher chance to complain about insomnia and a significantly lower general health. Symptoms of insomnia and general health were unrelated to age, job experience, educational level, and gender. Given this background, it appears that the working context had a lower impact on individuals' well-being compared to individual characteristics.