Without a Smartphone Like Without Hands? Nomophobia, Procrastination and Academic Motivation: Adaptation of the Russian-Language Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and Analysis of Students’ Digital Dependencies

In the context of increasing digitalization of the educational environment, nomophobia (the fear of being without access to a mobile device) is becoming an increasingly relevant psychological problem among student youth. The aim of this study was to adapt the Russian-language version of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and to examine the relationships of nomophobia with procrastination, academic motivation, personality traits, fear of missing out (FOMO), and doomscrolling tendencies. The study involved 621 university students in Russia (49% males and 51% females) aged 16 to 29 years (M = 20,3; SD = 1,47). Standardized methods were used: the adapted version of NMP-Q, Doomscrolling Scale, FOMO Scale, Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), Student Procrastination Scale, and Academic Motivation Scales. Psychometric analysis showed that the Russian-language version of the NMP-Q retains the original four-factor structure (discomfort due to lack of access to information, fear of being disconnected from others, fear of being disconnected from close ones, fear of missing news and messages), demonstrates high internal reliability (Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω > 0,76) and good convergent validity. Significant positive correlations of nomophobia with doomscrolling, FOMO, procrastination, as well as with external and amotivation in academic activity were found. Nomophobia was associated with higher neuroticism, lower conscientiousness and openness. Particular attention is drawn to the established relationship between nomophobia and academic motivation: anxiety about loss of connection increases gadget usage time, but is accompanied by a decrease in cognitive motivation and an increase in external forms of motivation. All hypotheses put forward were confirmed. The obtained results allow considering nomophobia as a marker of a broader disorganization of self-regulation, motivational processes and emotional stability of students under conditions of digital dependence.

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