How does nomophobia affect academic engagement? The mediating role of socio-emotional skills in secondary school students in the Peruvian Amazon

Sandoval-Correa D.; Panduro-Rengifo Y.; Gutierrez-Cieza R.; Aranda-Turpo J.; Mayta-Llanos J. · Frontiers in Education (2026) · DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1914061

Resumen

This study evaluated the mediating role of socioemotional competencies in the relationship between nomophobia and academic engagement in Peruvian secondary school students, hypothesizing that these competencies would mediate this relationship. A cross-sectional explanatory design was used with a convenience sample of 408 participants. The instruments employed were the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), the Socioemotional Competencies Test for Secondary School Adolescents (CSE-AS-Perú), and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale—6S (UWES-6S), whose reliability was assessed using McDonald's omega coefficient. Descriptive, correlational, and mediation analyses were conducted with observed variables and SEM. The structural model demonstrated adequate fit indices [χ² (33) = 117, p < .001, CFI = 0.975, TLI = 0.966, RMSEA = 0.079, 90% CI (0.064, 0.095), SRMR = 0.039]. The indirect effect of nomophobia on academic engagement through socioemotional competencies was significant in both analyses [β = −0.20, p < .001, 95% CI (−0.268, −0.125)], accompanied by a non-significant direct effect, configuring a pattern of indirect-only mediation. These findings suggest implementing programs under the CASEL framework, with evidence-based practices, to comprehensively strengthen students’ socioemotional competencies in response to the effects of nomophobia on their academic engagement.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Unión