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Nomophobia (NO MObile PHone Phobia) is a psychological condition in which people are anxious of being cut off from their mobile phones and been associated with adverse consequences to physical and psychosocial health. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of nomophobia on musculoskeletal problems in the upper extremity among adults. The Nomophobia scale (NMP-Q) was used to measure addiction to smartphone use among 5,087 Middle Eastern adults. A snowball sampling approach was used to recruit the participants between March and June 2021. Results showed that nomophobia was evident in 1,119 participants (22%) with a mean NMP-Q score of 114.1 (SD 11.1). A total of 3,396 upper extremity symptoms were reported among our participants. The binomial logistic regression showed that NMP-Q score is a significant predictor of symptoms to the thumb only ( β  = 0.01, p = .026). This study has provided evidence of the negative physical consequences of addiction to smartphone use. Participants with thumb-related symptoms were more prone to sustain other concurrent upper extremity symptoms, probably due to their maladaptive habits of using the phone. Thus, it is important to increase awareness about the risks associated with the use of smartphones. Implications for occupational therapy are presented.

The objectives of this study were to examine the association between financial wellbeing and somatization, in addition to the mediating effect of anxiety, depression and stress. To test such hypotheses, a cross-sectional study was carried out between September and October 2021; 403 participants (264 females; age = 32.76 ± 13.24 years) were recruited. Depression mediated the association between financial wellbeing and somatization. A worse financial wellbeing was significantly associated with more depression, which was associated with more somatization. Moreover, a worse financial wellbeing was significantly and directly associated with more somatization. Our study adds to the narrow body of research revolving around the relationship between financial wellbeing and somatization in Lebanese adults. Understanding that the effects of, depression are aggravated in a country such as Lebanon would help establish more preventative guidelines and mental health awareness campaigns. Identifying the correlates of somatization can also be translated into improved interventions.

A gap in the literature exists about the associations between adaptive eating patterns like mindful eating, body appreciation and psychological distress within the Lebanese population. The current culture of acceptance and increased emphasis on wellbeing elicits interest in studying body acceptance and its correlates. The aim of the current study is to assess the mediating effect of psychological distress in the association between body appreciation and mindful eating behaviors among a sample of Lebanese adults. This cross-sectional study enrolled 465 participants. Men and women over the age of 18 were eligible to participate. Then, initial participants were asked to recruit other participants they know. Individuals who consented took an online questionnaire that contained the following scales: a section collecting sociodemographic information, Mindful Eating Behavior Scale, Depression Stress Anxiety Scale (DASS-8) and Body Appreciation (BAS-2). The results of the mediation analysis showed that psychological distress fully mediated the associations between body appreciation and eating with awareness/eating without distraction. Higher body appreciation was significantly associated with less psychological distress, whereas higher psychological distress was significantly associated with less eating with awareness/eating without distraction. However, body appreciation was not associated with eating with awareness/eating without distraction respectively. These findings could guide further research on different categories of adaptive eating patterns and positive body variables within the Lebanese population.

Adolescence has been identified as a particularly vulnerable age group with a high prevalence of insomnia and a heightened susceptibility to experiencing psychotic experiences, which in turn increases the risk of developing psychotic disorders. In particular, insomnia symptoms were found to be predominant among noise-sensitive adolescents exhibiting a higher level of noise annoyance. This study aimed to assess the moderating effect of insomnia severity between noise annoyance and psychotic disorders among Lebanese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 527 Lebanese adolescents. Participants filled a self-administered online questionnaire. Insomnia moderated the association between noise annoyance and psychotic disorders. Noise annoyance was significantly associated with a higher risk of emergence of psychotic disorders. At low and moderate levels of insomnia severity, higher noise annoyance was significantly associated with higher psychotic experiences. Understanding how these variables interact provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms leading to psychotic disorders among adolescents.

The relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and lifestyle choices during the COVID-19 pandemic is obscure and not very well understood. To clarify the mechanisms underlying this relationship, we proposed to test the hypothesis that different coping styles (avoidant and approach) have an indirect effect on the association between EI and many types of lifestyle habits. A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2020 and January 2021. Our target sample consisted of Lebanese adults from the general population. In path analysis, approach coping mediated the association between EI and different lifestyle habits (rest, nutrition, general physical conditions), but not exercise. Furthermore, avoidant coping did mediate the association between EI and general physical conditions, but not between EI and other lifestyle choices (namely rest, exercise, and nutrition). To conclude, individuals with high EI, and that are users of approach coping strategies to deal with stressors, have increased rest time, healthy nutrition and general physical conditions. This cautiously implies that fostering approach coping may help improve the positive effects of EI on healthy lifestyles during crises such as this pandemic.

Interests in including mindfulness techniques in medical and psychological fields have been increasing recently. Accordingly, it is important to validate the short form of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI-14) to help professionals living in Arabic speaking countries. Thus, we aimed to validate the FMI-14 in the Arabic language (FMI-Ar) in Arabic-speaking university students from Lebanon. We carried-out a cross-sectional study between July and September 2021; 363 university students (mean age 22.65 ± 3.48 years, 61.7% females) were enrolled. The McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha values for the total score were excellent (0.92 for both). Confirmatory factor analysis of the one-factor model of the FMI-Ar showed satisfactory fit indices: χ 2 /df = 218.33/77 = 2.83, RMSEA = 0.071 [0.060-0.082], CFI = 0.92, and TLI = 0.90. Additionally, the FMI score was negatively associated with depression ( r  = -0.51; p  = 0.001) and anxiety ( r  = -0.48; p  < 0.001). All hypotheses (factor, convergent, and divergent validity) related to the FMI-Ar were verified in our study. Therefore, professionals can now benefit from the FMI-Ar, a suitable scale to measure mindfulness among Lebanese University students.

The interplay between insomnia and PTSD symptoms remains misunderstood, and seems to be influenced by other factors like individual resilience. Our study examined the moderating role of resilience in the relationship between insomnia and PTSD symptoms among a sample of Lebanese adolescents, in the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake. This cross sectional study, conducted in April, 2 months after the earthquake, enrolled 546 Lebanese adolescents. We used the Sleep Self Report, the Resilience Scale for Adolescents and the 13-item Children's Impact of Event Scale. The interaction insomnia severity by resilience was significantly associated with PTSD scores. At low, moderate and high resilience levels, higher insomnia severity was significantly associated with lower PTSD. Resilience moderated the relationship between insomnia and PTSD, mitigating the detrimental impact of disrupted sleep on PTSD symptoms. This data can guide healthcare administrators and psychiatric caregivers in classifying risk factors and implementing interventions to predict PTSD development.

Limited evidence showed that impulsivity is negatively related to life satisfaction and wellbeing; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. We aimed through this work to investigate the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and well-being and to explore the moderator role of mindfulness on this relationship in a sample of Lebanese university students. This cross-sectional study was carried out among 363 university students recruited through convenience sampling through several universities in Lebanon's governorates. Higher mindfulness was significantly associated with better wellbeing in the models that considered urgency and sensation seeking as independent variables. A lack of premeditation and a lack of perseverance were both inversely associated with well-being. The interaction lack of perseverance by mindfulness was significantly associated with wellbeing; for students who were low in mindfulness, more lack of perseverance was significantly associated with a lower wellbeing. Our study suggested that mindfulness practice may offer a promising avenue for implementing strategies aiming at improving the well-being of students with high levels of impulsivity.

Research on the association between social media use disorder (SMUD) and face-to-face sexual function remains controversial, surprisingly scarce and even non-existing in certain vulnerable populations such as university students. We aimed to explore the mediating role of loneliness between SMUD and two dimensions of sexual function (sexual arousal and desire) in a sample of Lebanese university students. A total of 363 university students participated in a cross-sectional survey. Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire, Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale and Social Media Use Disorder scale were used to measure sexual function (desire and arousal), loneliness and SMUD respectively. The mediation analysis results showed that loneliness mediated the association between SMUD and sexual arousal (but not sexual desire). Higher SMUD was significantly associated with more loneliness, whereas more loneliness was significantly associated with less sexual arousal. Subsequently, higher SMUD was significantly associated with less sexual arousal. The present findings edge the university staff, clinicians, and researchers towards the psychological mechanisms that may help university students improve their sexual function, and calls for additional research in this area. Attention should be given to the possible potential role of moderating social media use in tackling loneliness and improving students' sexual function. In addition, routine sexual counseling should be considered when assessing and intervening with students having SMUD.

The cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS) is a core concept within metacognitive theory. The premise of the CAS is related to metacognition, however its role in psychopathology is distinct. Due to the complex nature of the CAS, a theoretically driven and psychometrically sound self-report measure of the CAS for the Arabic population is yet to be developed. We translated the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS) into the Arabic language and tested its structural validity. The MCASS was translated according to the standard guidelines of forward-translation followed by backward-translation. In Study 1, the MCASS was administered to a larger sample ( N = 1027), selected from 22 Arabic-speaking countries in the Arab League countries, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the measure. Those who participated in Study 1 were excluded from participating in Study 2. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used in Study 2 ( N = 567) to assess the latent factor structure of MCASS, which supported a six-factor model. Results support multidimensional assessment of the CAS using the MCASS, and demonstrate suitability for use in Arab speaking samples. Implications of this study and recommendations for use of the Arabic version of MCASS are discussed.