Prevalence and associated factors of nomophobia among the medical and university students of Bangladesh

Background: Nomophobia, characterised by the dread or anxiety of being without access to a mobile phone, has become an increasing behavioural issue among young adults, especially university and medical students. Excessive reliance on smartphones has been linked to psychological suffering, impaired everyday functioning, and negative academic results. Nonetheless, information about the prevalence and determinants of nomophobia among medical and university students in Bangladesh is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nomophobia and investigate its associated sociodemographic traits and smartphone-related behaviors among medical and university students in Bangladesh. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was performed with 436 undergraduate medical and non-medical students from eight districts of Bangladesh from September 2023 to July 2025 to encompass diversity throughout academic cycles and guarantee wider geographic representation, using an online structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited using non-probability snowball sampling through peer networks and institutional connections. Nomophobia was evaluated via the validated Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The questionnaire was pilot-tested (n = 60) and showed good reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.82). Information on socio-demographics, mobile phone usage trends, and application preferences was collected. Data was processed using STATA version 16. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were used to ascertain factors related to nomophobia. Effect sizes were reported as β coefficients with 95% confidence intervals. Reporting of effect sizes alongside p-values allows better interpretation of the practical significance of findings beyond statistical significance. Results: The average age of participants was 20.70 ± 1.52 years. 46.79% of students exhibited moderate nomophobia, whereas 25.69% had severe nomophobia. Elevated nomophobia scores were significantly associated with female gender, moderate household income, usage of social media and communication applications, prolonged daily mobile phone usage (>7 hours), frequent phone checking, and instant phone checking upon awakening (effect sizes from adjusted models: > 7 hours usage β = 13.20; 95% CI: 1.31–25.10; social communication application use β = 8.25; 95% CI: 2.63–13.86; immediate phone checking β = 7.09; 95% CI: 0.67–13.52). Multiple linear regression indicated that extended phone usage, engagement with social communication applications, middle-income position, and early-morning phone checking were associated with elevated nomophobia scores. Conclusion: Nomophobia is significantly common among medical and university students in Bangladesh. Behavioural patterns such as prolonged daily smartphone use, frequent phone checking, immediate phone use upon waking and extensive engagement with social communication and media applications are associated with excessive smartphone usage and the development of nomophobia; however, causality cannot be inferred due to the cross-sectional study design. These findings underscore the necessity for awareness initiatives, early detection, and focused interventions to alleviate the adverse psychological and behavioural effects of nomophobia in students within the socio-cultural and digital context of Bangladesh, where rapid smartphone penetration may contribute to these patterns.