AUTHOR=Barbed-Castrejón Noelia , Navaridas-Nalda Fermín , Mason Oliver , Ortuño-Sierra Javier 

TITLE=Prevalence of phubbing behaviour in school and university students in Spain

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1396863

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1396863

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Objective: This study reports the prevalence of phubbing in a Spanish sample of school and university students and its correlation with other indicators of well-being and mental health.The final sample comprised a total of 1351 students from school centers and University, with ages ranging from 12 to 21 years old. We used the Phubbing Scale (PS), the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), and the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ).Results: Evidence of phubbing was present for around half of all students. Statistically significant differences were found by gender and educational level in the Phone Obsession subscale and the Total Score with males and university students scoring higher in both respectively. In addition, phubbing was positively correlated with problematic internet use and negatively correlated with self-esteem.Phubbing behaviours appear to be very common in 12-21-year-olds and are positively correlated with low self-esteem and problematic internet use. Detection strategies of this common problem at early ages, and in relevant contexts, such as school, could help to implement prevention policies. The misuse of technological devices, including the phone, in the school, may have a potential impact in students' well-being and adjustment to school.