The mediating role of alexithymia and loneliness in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and nomophobia.

This article investigates the relationship between childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and nomophobia—the fear of being without a mobile phone—in adolescents, focusing on whether alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing emotions) and loneliness sequentially mediate this association and if these pathways differ by gender. Using self-report data from 1,032 Italian adolescents aged 14–17, structural equation modeling revealed that higher levels of CEA were significantly associated with increased alexithymia and loneliness, which in turn were linked to greater nomophobia; these mediation effects were consistent across boys and girls. The findings suggest that emotionally abused adolescents with elevated alexithymia and loneliness may be more vulnerable to nomophobic behaviors, highlighting the potential value of interventions targeting emotional awareness and social connectedness to prevent or reduce problematic smartphone dependence in this population. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report measures, underscoring the need for longitudinal and multi-method research to confirm causal pathways and inform culturally sensitive prevention and treatment strategies.