Phubbing in Students: New Evidence for a Spanish Short Form of the Phubbing Scale (PS-6)

Abstract

Background: Phubbing—the act of snubbing someone by concentrating on a smartphone—is claimed to be an increasing, even normative, behavior receiving more research attention. However, evidence about the adequacy of instruments that allow screening for phubbing is limited. Objectives: Thus, the main purpose of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Phubbing scale in a sample of adolescents and young adults and present a reliable and valid short form. Methods: The final sample included a total of 1351 adolescent students (54.25% males), aged between 12 and 21. The study used a self-administered questionnaire with different scales for collecting data. Results: A two-dimensional model of a short version of the PS with 6 items (PS-6) displayed appropriate goodness-of-fit indices. Strong measurement invariance for the two-dimensional model across gender and educational levels was confirmed. McDonald’s Omega coefficients for the Communication, the Obsession, and the Total score of the PS-6 were 0.617, 0.669, and 0.701, respectively. The PS-6 was positively associated with several indicators of psychological difficulties and negatively associated with psychological well-being and self-esteem. Conclusions: The present study contributes valuable information about the psychometric adequacy of the PS-6, a short instrument that allows screening for Phubbing in adolescents and young adults.