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The Effect of Communication Skills Training on Nomophobia and Social Competence in Adolescents with Nomophobia

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychometrics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

10.30476/smsj.2026.103691.1560

Abstract

Introduction: The detrimental effects of nomophobia and the diminished social competence observed in adolescents with this condition have attracted increasing attention from researchers. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of communication skills training on nomophobia and social competence in adolescents exhibiting symptoms of nomophobia.  
Methods: This research employed an experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. The statistical population included all adolescents with symptoms of nomophobia residing in Khorramabad during the first half of 2024. From this population, 30 adolescents were selected through multistage random cluster sampling and were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=15) or a control group (n=15). The research instruments included the Nomophobia Symptoms Questionnaire (Azadmanesh et al.) and the Social Competence Questionnaire (Parandin). Communication skills training, based on the Hargie et al. model, was delivered to the experimental group in ten 70-minute sessions. The obtained data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) via SPSS software, version 19.  
Results: The findings revealed that communication skills training led to a significant reduction in nomophobia symptoms (F=56.750, P<0.001, Eta=0.67) and its subscales—anxiety, depression, and feelings of failure—in adolescents with nomophobia. Furthermore, the results indicated that communication skills training was effective in increasing social competence (F=26.070, P<0.001, Eta=0.49) and its subscales—behavioral skills, motivational schemas and expectations, cognitive skills, and emotional adequacy—in adolescents with nomophobia. 
Conclusion: It could be concluded that when adolescents with symptoms of nomophobia received communication skills training, they learned to engage in healthy and productive social relationships with their peers and family to satisfy their relational needs, thereby reducing their reliance on smartphone-based virtual communication. This, in turn, decreased their dependence on mobile phones, alleviated symptoms of nomophobia, and enhanced their social competence. 
 

Keywords

References
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