Psychological Interventions Affecting Nomophobia: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Nomophobia or non-mobile phobia means phobia caused by the loss and distance from a mobile phone. Nomophobia is associated with numerous psychological effects and reduced quality of life. The present review study was conducted to investigate the psychological interventions affecting nomophobia.In the present review study, first the researcher in Google Scholar search engine and more specifically in SID (Scientific information database), PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Magiran using English keywords such as Psychological intervention, Nomophobia, and their Persian equivalent searched. A total of 328 articles were obtained from 2000 to 2020. Then, 232 articles were deleted due to duplication, 54 articles due to irrelevance, 23 articles in the screening stage and 13 articles in the full-text review stage, and finally, 6 articles were reviewed.Psychological interventions in studies include cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and emotionoriented therapy. In 2 studies, the effectiveness of mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and emotion-oriented therapy was evaluated. In 1 study, the effect of cognitivebehavioral therapy was investigated. In 3 studies, the role of mindfulness was investigated. The results of studies have shown that these interventions have increased the quality of life, improved sleep, reduced anxiety and emotion regulation, and reduced the symptoms of nomophobia in people with nomophobia.The results of the studies indicate the positive effect of psychological interventions on the complications of nomophobia. Due to the high prevalence of nomophobia and its consequences, using psychological interventions by health care providers to reduce these complications and improve the quality of life is recommended.