The Effect of Nursing Students' Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing Behaviors on Communication Skill

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of nursing students' smartphone addiction and phubbing behaviors on their communication skills. This study was conducted with 587 undergraduate nursing students. Sociodemographic data were evaluated using percentages and means. The relationship between smartphone addiction and communication skills and the relationship between phubbing behaviors and communication skills were evaluated with Pearson's correlation analysis. The effect of nursing students' smartphone addiction and phubbing behaviors on their communication skills was evaluated using multiple regression analysis. The mean age of the nursing students in the study was 20.47 ± 1.91 years, and 69.3% (n = 407) of the students were female. When the relationship between the communication skills of undergraduate nursing students and other variables was analyzed, it was found that there was a moderate, significant, and negative correlation with smartphone addiction (β = -0.314, P < .001) as well as with the status of phubbing behaviors (β = -0.503, P < .001). It was determined that there was a significant negative relationship between the communication skills of undergraduate nursing students and their smartphone addiction and the status of phubbing behaviors.