Abstract
No previous research has examined the association between symptoms of nomophobia and food addiction. Similarly, only a few studies have examined the association between nomophobia and symptoms of insomnia. This exploratory study utilized an online self-administered, structured questionnaire that included: basic sociodemographic and anthropometrics; the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q); the insomnia severity index (ISI); and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) in a convenience sample of young adults (18–35 years) in Bahrain (
n
= 654), 304 (46%) males and 350 (54%) females. Symptoms of severe nomophobia, moderate-severe insomnia, and food addiction were more common among female participants both for each disorder separately and in combination; however, differences did not reach statistical significance. For severe nomophobia, the rate for females was 76 (21.7%) and for males was 57 (18.8%)
p
= 0.9. For moderate-severe insomnia, the rate for females was 56 (16%) and for males was 36 (11.84%)
p
= 0.1. For food addiction, the rate for females was 71 (20.29%) and for males was 53 (17.43%)
p
= 0.3. A statistically significant association was present between nomophobia and insomnia
r
= 0.60,
p
< 0.001. No association was found between nomophobia and food addiction. Nomophobia is very common in young adults, particularly in females; nomophobia is associated with insomnia but not with food addiction.