Psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the General Phubbing Scale

Introduction: The increased use of information and communication technologies, the internet and social networking sites has resulted in significant changes in the way people communicate, leading to negative consequences that might compromise psychological and physical health. The aim of this study was to present an adaptation and validation of the Generic Scale of Phubbing into a Spanish language context. Method: Three hundred forty-six Spanish respondents participated in the study by completing self-report measures for assessing their levels of phubbing, internet addiction, phone addiction, and fear of missing out (FoMO). Results: The scale adaptation to Spanish resulted in high quality psychometric properties and the original number of items and structure were preserved (nomophobia, interpersonal contact, self-isolation, and problem acknowledgement). In addition, the analysis of the relationship between variables showed that phubbing and its dimensions were positively associated with related constructs including internet addiction, phone addiction, and FoMO. Conclusions: The findings provide empirical evidence regarding the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Generic Scale of Phubbing as a tool to assess phubbing behaviours.