The goal of this position paper is to present an argument for the validation of nomophobia by the American Psychologist Association (APA) and its further inclusion in the DSM-5. Therefore, it is important to explore the current existing literature of nomophobia, the relevance of this disorder to certain aspects of the human behavior and the psyche, the available empirical research, and lastly a possible treatment. This argument must be taken with care since as for now Nomophobia is a proposed disorder. Psychologists and researchers emphasize that nomophobia is the result of the development of new technologies and virtual communication devices. As for now, the interest in the topic is increasing. Therefore, the validation of nomophobia could contribute to the conversation of the side effects of technologies in society, education, youth, and the brain. For instance, nomophobia is not a widely accepted disorder instead is a proposed disorder. The topic holds significant disagreements and totally opposed results when explore using empirical verified data. Also, there is a misunderstanding when thinking of nomophobia not as an anxiety disorder from an object-oriented phobia but as an addiction. From the writer perspective, these misconnections make the topic of nomophobia an ideal case study of the guidelines for the validation of a disorder, answering until what point a regular habit becomes a disorder, and overall the fact that the abrupt inclusion of new technologies may impact humans subconsciously.

This research will be built over my previous work in the literature review about nomophobia (Only after fixing some errors). In the meantime, I have located two new sources that I intend to use as background information and as supporting argument to the importance of validating nomophobia by the APA and its inclusion in the DMS-5. By doing so, this could lead to further research on the effects of technology in humans. I plan on using the APA style of citations by using the guidelines of Purdue Owl.

At this point, I lack a specific plan of action for the paper ‘s development. However, during the process of creating this paper, I want to make sure to at least complete three of the four things that I have in mind. To have a conversation about the topic of nomophobia with my former professor and chair of the psychology department: Dr. Robert Melara.  To spend a day researching about nomophobia in many of the other databases. Since as for now my research has just been focused in Science Direct and PubMed. To clarify my intended line of research with Prof. Grove. Lastly, to use the services offered by the Writing Center.

 

Annotated Bibliography

Bragazzi, N. L., & Del Puente, G. (2014). A proposal for including nomophobia in the new DSM-V. Psychology research and behavior management, 7, 155-60.

This article, written by two college professors and authors from the department of neuroscience at the University of Genoa, Italy, effectively discusses the issue of validating nomophobia and integrating it into the DSM-5. It provides insight into the conversation of nomophobia so far, the analysis in the diagnosis of this disease and advocates for more research in the treatment of nomophobia. As planned, this will be used as evidence to support the goal of the research. It is easy to read, comprehensive with the matter and possess 68 citations that back up the article from a wide range of scientific journals in drugs, technology, and treatments.

Kanmani A, Bhavani U, Maragatham R (2017), NOMOPHOBIA – An Insight into its Psychological Aspects in India, International Journal of Indian Psychology, Volume 4, Issue 2, No. 87, Pages 5-15.

This article, written by three graduate students from Manipal University, India, summarizes a significant portion of the literature of nomophobia including the disagreements, novel insights, barriers, and a recompilation of empirical data from studies in nomophobia. Also, it provides with own research data and more importantly the need for the validation of this disorder by the DMV-5. As planned, this will be used as evidence to support the goal of the research. It is easy to read; however, the paper does not clearly show if it has been peer reviewed and the number of citations is lower than other scientific journals (10).