Preservice teachers' nomophobia levels, sense of loneliness and adjustment to college life

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate whether preservice teachers' nomophobia levels, sense of loneliness and adjustment to university life vary based on their demographic characteristics. Additionally, regression analyses were carried out to determine whether their sense of loneliness, nomophobia levels, and adjustment to university life were predictors of each other.

Design and Methods In this quantitative study, the cross-sectional survey research model was used. A total of 234 preservice teachers, 65 of whom were studying at the elementary mathematics department, 81 of whom were studying at the preschool education department, and 88 of whom were studying at the science education department, participated in this study. Independent-samples t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the quantitative data.

Findings The main conclusions from this study were that (a) the students with the highest sense of loneliness were the students of the elementary mathematics department, the students with the highest level of nomophobia were the science education students, and the students who adjusted the most to university life were the preschool education students. (b) There were no significant differences between the 1st and 2nd year preservice teachers in terms of their sense of loneliness, nomophobia levels, and adjustment to university life. (c) There were statistically significant differences between the mean total nomophobia scores of the male and female students in favor of the females especially in the "losing connectedness" and "not being able to access information" subscales of nomophobia. (d) A statistically significant difference was found between the preservice teachers whose mothers were high school and university graduates in terms of their academic adjustment in favor of the preservice teachers with mothers who had university degrees. (e) The preservice teachers, who stated that their relationship with their family was very good, had higher levels of sense of loneliness, mobile phone addiction, and adjustment to university life than the others. The results were statistically significant in all total scores of the loneliness scale and dimensions except for the dimensions of nomophobia. (f) The students who were hopeful for the future had a high sense of loneliness and adjustment to university life. It was also determined that the students who were desperate for their future had high mobile phone addiction levels. Apart from nomophobia and its dimensions and the social adjustment dimension of university life, statistically significant differences were found between the hopeful and hopeless students in terms of their sense of loneliness and adjustment to university life. (g) Statistically significant mean differences were found between the students who were generally satisfied with and those that were not satisfied with their life in terms of their sense of loneliness and adjustment to university life with its all dimensions in favor of the satisfied ones. (h) The preservice teachers who lived alone at home had a higher sense of loneliness and better adjustment to university life. It was also noteworthy that the students living in dormitories had higher nomophobia levels than the others. (i) A linear relationship was found between the students' sense of loneliness and adjustment to university life, and sense of loneliness was a significant predictor of adjustment to university life.

Practical Implications Determining students' nomophobia levels, sense of loneliness, and adjustment to university life would be beneficial in bringing students who have difficulty adapting to new living environments into social life.