Razi University

  The rapid expansion of communication technologies and excessive dependence on smartphones have brought about emerging psychological challenges, such as nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia). The present study aimed to develop and test a structural model of the relationship between fear of missing out (FoMO) and cognitive emotion regulation strategies (adaptive and maladaptive) with nomophobia among university students, considering the mediating role of loneliness. The research design was descriptive-correlational based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population comprised students of Razi University of Kermanshah during the 2025–2026 academic year, from whom a sample of 212 students was selected using convenience sampling. Participants completed the Nomophobia Questionnaire (Yildirim & Correia, 2015), the Fear of Missing Out Scale (Przybylski et al., 2013), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire - Short Form (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1996). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in   -26 and Amos-24. The structural model findings revealed that fear of missing out (0.32), maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (0.26), and loneliness (0.24) exerted significant direct positive effects on nomophobia, whereas adaptive emotion regulation strategies (-0.28) exerted a significant direct negative effect on nomophobia. Furthermore, the indirect path analysis using the bootstrapping method indicated that loneliness significantly mediated the relationships between fear of missing out and nomophobia (0.12), adaptive strategies and nomophobia (-0.09), and maladaptive strategies and nomophobia (0.07). Goodness-of-fit indices confirmed an optimal fit between the structural model and the empirical data. These findings demonstrate that fear of missing out and the adoption of maladaptive cognitive strategies exacerbate students’ vulnerability to nomophobia by intensifying psychological isolation and loneliness. Consequently, designing and implementing psycho-educational interventions focused on enhancing adaptive emotion regulation skills and alleviating loneliness can play a pivotal role in mitigating problematic smartphone dependence.