Perceived physical activity barriers as predictors of nomophobia levels in sports science students

Introduction In today’s world, where smartphones have become an indispensable part of life, the existence of a department for treating smartphone addiction (nomophobia) in hospitals demonstrates that this is a public health issue. Nomophobia symptoms are exhibited by individuals of almost all ages, with young people being the least able to stay away from their phones. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to investigate whether perceived physical activity barriers among students at the Faculty of Sports Sciences have a predictive effect on their levels of nomophobia. Method A total of 570 students enrolled in the Faculty of Sports Sciences participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The Üsküdar Nomophobia Scale and the Perceived Physical Activity Barriers Scale were employed. The data were analyzed using the Jamovi (2.3.28.0) statistical program with a 95% confidence interval and a significance level of 0.05. Results A positive moderate correlation was found between participants’ nomophobia and physical activity barrier scores. The final regression model was statistically significant [R = 0.479, R2 = 0.230, F (6,563) = 27.955, p < 0.001], explaining 23% of the variance in nomophobia. Adding perceived physical activity barriers to the model significantly increased its explanatory power (ΔR2 = 0.213, p < 0.001). Perceived physical activity barriers were found to be the strongest predictor of nomophobia (β = 0.451, p < 0.001). Department (p = 0.006) and teaching type (p = 0.019) were also found to be significant predictors, whereas BMI, gender and academic year were not. Conclusion The findings suggest that perceived barriers to physical activity are a significant factor in predicting nomophobia among university students. Reducing these barriers and promoting active lifestyles could encourage healthier technology usage behaviors and reduce excessive smartphone addiction.