Fear of missing out as an additive predictor of nomophobia beyond Big Five personality traits

Almat S. Nuradinov, Aliya Mambetalina, Bakhyt Tusupbekova, Lyazzat Assylbekova, Lyudmila Gitikhmayeva

Acta Psychologica, 2026

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DOI 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107303
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Because being apart from a mobile phone can be painful for students whose social and academic habits rely on mobile communication, nomophobia poses a significant threat to digital well-being. This two-wave quantitative study seeks to investigate whether the fear of missing out (FoMO) moderates the relationship between an individual's personality and their level of nomophobia and whether it predicts the severity of nomophobia independently from personality traits, demographic factors, and smartphone usage intensity. Data for the analysis were collected from a sample of 200 undergraduate students at a single university in Kazakhstan; of these, 180 finished a three-week follow-up, and 190 submitted legible screen time reports. Here, data were analysed using the Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression methods. A moderately positive correlation was found between nomophobia and FoMO ( r = 0.421). Even so, levels of nomophobia ended up being heightened regardless of the FoMO intensity. FoMO continued to be a significant predictor after the regression model was adjusted (β =0.342, p < .001), increasing the ratio of explained variance (R 2 = 0.144 vs R 2 = 0.249, ΔR 2 = 0.104). After controlling for psychological factors, self-reported and app-logged screen time failed to predict the severity of nomophobia independently. The absence of significant trait-FoMO interactions suggests that FoMO is an additive predictor, rather than a moderator. The present findings suggest that nomophobia in young adults is likely a psychological issue related to social life, rather than a result of spending too much time on a smartphone.