EXPLORING THE ROLE OF GENDER AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH NOMOPHOBIA AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the role of gender and its relationship with nomophobia and psychological well-being among undergraduates of the University of Jos, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty (120) students, consented to participate in the study, comprising 64 males and 56 females (N=56), ranging in age between 16 to 35 years. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (Yildirim & Correia, 2015) and the Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989), were used to collect data for testing two (2) hypotheses. The test results indicated a negative correlation between nomophobia and psychological well-being of undergraduate students, while nomophobia had no
significant relationship with psychological well-being, but there was a significant positive relationship between gender and psychological well-being. However, gender did not significantly moderate the relationship between nomophobia and psychological well-being. Based on these findings, it was recommended that counsellors and management of universities should as a matter of policy, counsel students on the safe use of their smart-phones in order to improve their psychological wellbeing and overall quality of life.