Social support as a mediator in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia: An Investigation among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Samantha Arielle Lai; Khong Yun Pang; Ching Sin Siau; Caryn Mei Hsien Chan; Yee Kee Tan; Pei Boon Ooi; Mohamad Ikhram Bin Mohamad Ridzuan; Meng Chuan Ho

doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03256-y

Social support as a mediator in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia: An Investigation among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Curr Psychol. 2022 Jun 2:1-8. doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-03256-y. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Samantha Arielle Lai¹, Khong Yun Pang², Ching Sin Siau³, Caryn Mei Hsien Chan³, Yee Kee Tan³, Pei Boon Ooi², Mohamad Ikhram Bin Mohamad Ridzuan¹, Meng Chuan Ho^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, No. 1, Jalan Menara Gading, UCSI Heights, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² School of Medical & Life Sciences, Sunway University, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
³ Centre for Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia.
⁴ Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

This study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia among Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted with N = 547 university students. Participants answered a self-administered questionnaire measuring nomophobia, social support, and perceived stress. Exploratory analyses were conducted using partial least square structural equation modelling. We found that perceived stress was positively associated with nomophobia during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst social support partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and nomophobia. The results of this study indicated that stress may be buffered by social support in individuals with higher levels of nomophobia.

Keywords: Nomophobia; Partial least squares; Perceived stress; Social support; Stress buffering hypothesis.