An investigation of the antecedents and consequences of "phubbing": how being snubbed in favour of a mobile phone permeates and affects social life

Smartphones have changed the way people interact with each other in modern society. However, while they are becoming more omnipresent in human life, there is increasing concern that they are often used at inappropriate times during social interactions, and that people often ignore others in favour of their phones. In this thesis, we explore the phenomenon of "phubbing" - the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by concentrating on one's mobile phone. In a series of ten empirical studies, we demonstrate that Internet addiction, fear of missing out, and self-control predict smartphone addiction, which in turn predicts the extent to which people phub. This path also predicts the extent to which people feel that phubbing is normative, both via (a) the extent to which people are phubbed themselves, and (b) independently. Phubbing also significantly dampens perceived communication quality and relationship satisfaction in dyadic conversation. These effects are mediated by reduced feelings of belonging and both positive and negative affect. In addition, the results indicate that the degree to which someone is affected by phubbing is not determined by the relationship status between phubber and phubbee. We also develop and validate the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) to assess phubbing behaviour, and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP) to assess the experience of being phubbed. Both scales reveal good psychometric properties. In conclusion, the results of the current research allow us to better understand how phubbing permeates and affects human social life

Measuring Phone Snubbing Behavior: Development and Validation of the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP)

Ignoring and being ignored by others in favor of a smartphone is a common feature of everyday communication. However, little research has examined this phenomenon known as phubbing and even less research has determined how to measure it. This paper reports the results of six studies designed to develop and validate the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) to assess phubbing behavior, and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP) to assess the experience of being phubbed. After reducing and refining items with the assistance of expert panels, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to further reduce the number of items and finalize the scales. Finally, the psychometric properties of both scales were examined. Data from 1,836 respondents from the general public were recruited from six online surveys (N = 352, 333, and 224 for the GSP; N = 358, 341, and 228 for the GSBP). The four-factor 15-item GSP and the three-factor 22-item GSBP were developed and revealed good construct validities, criterion validities, convergent validities, discriminant validities, internal consistency reliabilities, and test-retest reliabilities

A descriptive literature review of phubbing behaviors

The practice of phubbing has become an emerging phenomenon of worldwide interest to researchers. The cause is due to the fact that smartphones are ubiquitous and are often used in co-present interactions. This behavior is generally considered inappropriate and is called “phubbing”. Phubbing, as described by Chotpitayasunondh and Douglas (2018), is the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at one's phone instead of paying attention to the other person. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of research studies on phubbing through a review of the current literature. To do this, a search was carried out in an international database, finding 84 relevant articles in English that appeared in peer-reviewed journals published between 2012, the year in which the term ‘phubbing’ appears, and January 2020. The review covers the main fields of research studies on phubbing behaviors. Likewise, the results of the study show the distribution of published articles on phubbing by year that detail the type of study and the methodological approach and, finally, the research journals that have published articles on phubbing. The results of this review are expected to stimulate and guide future research in this field

Increased hand washing reduces influenza virus surface contamination in Bangkok households, 2009–2010

Within a hand-washing clinical trial, we evaluated factors associated with fomite contamination in households with an influenza-infected child. Influenza virus RNA contamination was higher in households with low absolute humidity and in control households, suggesting that hand washing reduces surface contamination

Influenza A viral loads in respiratory samples collected from patients infected with pandemic H1N1, seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 viruses

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA), nasal swab (NS), and throat swab (TS) are common specimens used for diagnosis of respiratory virus infections based on the detection of viral genomes, viral antigens and viral isolation. However, there is no documented data regarding the type of specimen that yields the best result of viral detection. In this study, quantitative real time RT-PCR specific for M gene was used to determine influenza A viral loads present in NS, NPA and TS samples collected from patients infected with the 2009 pandemic H1N1, seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. Various copy numbers of RNA transcripts derived from recombinant plasmids containing complete M gene insert of each virus strain were assayed by RT-PCR. A standard curve for viral RNA quantification was constructed by plotting each Ct value against the log quantity of each standard RNA copy number. RESULTS: Copy numbers of M gene were obtained through the extrapolation of Ct values of the test samples against the corresponding standard curve. Among a total of 29 patients with severe influenza enrolled in this study (12 cases of the 2009 pandemic influenza, 5 cases of seasonal H1N1 and 12 cases of seasonal H3N2 virus), NPA was found to contain significantly highest amount of viral loads and followed in order by NS and TS specimen. Viral loads among patients infected with those viruses were comparable regarding type of specimen analyzed. CONCLUSION: Based on M gene copy numbers, we conclude that NPA is the best specimen for detection of influenza A viruses, and followed in order by NS and TS

Update on avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in humans

Avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses are entrenched among poultry in parts of Asia and Africa and continue to cause disease with high mortality in humans. This update summarizes recent information including research on the transmission and pathogenesis of the infection and on the current strategies for treatment and prevention. Copyright © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Modes of Transmission of Influenza B Virus in Households

Introduction:While influenza A and B viruses can be transmitted via respiratory droplets, the importance of small droplet nuclei "aerosols'' in transmission is controversial. Methods and Findings: In Hong Kong and Bangkok, in 2008-11, subjects were recruited from outpatient clinics if they had recent onset of acute respiratory illness and none of their household contacts were ill. Following a positive rapid influenza diagnostic test result, subjects were randomly allocated to one of three household-based interventions: hand hygiene, hand hygiene plus face masks, and a control group. Index cases plus their household contacts were followed for 7-10 days to identify secondary infections by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of respiratory specimens. Index cases with RT-PCR-confirmed influenza B were included in the present analyses. We used a mathematical model to make inferences on the modes of transmission, facilitated by apparent differences in clinical presentation of secondary infections resulting from aerosol transmission. We estimated that approximately 37% and 26% of influenza B virus transmission was via the aerosol mode in households in Hong Kong and Bangkok, respectively. In the fitted model, influenza B virus infections were associated with a 56%-72% risk of fever plus cough if infected via aerosol route, and a 23%-31% risk of fever plus cough if infected via the other two modes of transmission. Conclusions: Aerosol transmission may be an important mode of spread of influenza B virus. The point estimates of aerosol transmission were slightly lower for influenza B virus compared to previously published estimates for influenza A virus in both Hong Kong and Bangkok. Caution should be taken in interpreting these findings because of the multiple assumptions inherent in the model, including that there is limited biological evidence to date supporting a difference in the clinical features of influenza B virus infection by different modes.published_or_final_versio

Post-licensure, phase IV, safety study of a live attenuated Japanese encephalitis recombinant vaccine in children in Thailand

AbstractBackgroundJapanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic in most countries in Asia. A recombinant live, attenuated Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine, JE-CV, is licensed in 14 countries, including Thailand, for the prevention of Japanese encephalitis in adults and children.MethodsThis was a prospective, phase IV, open-label, multicentre, safety study of JE-CV conducted from November 2013 to April 2015, to evaluate rare serious adverse events (AEs). JE-CV was administered to 10,000 healthy children aged 9months to <5years in Thailand as a primary (Group 1) or booster (Group 2) vaccination. Serious AEs (SAEs), including AEs of special interest, up to 60days after administration were evaluated. Immediate Grade 3 systemic AEs up to 30min after JE-CV administration were also described.ResultsThe median age of participants was 1.1years in Group 1 and 3.8years in Group 2. SAEs were reported in 204 (3.0%) participants in Group 1 and 59 (1.9%) participants in Group 2. Among a total of 294 SAEs in 263 participants, only three events occurring in two participants were considered related to vaccination. All three cases were moderate urticaria, none of which met the definition of AEs of special interest for hypersensitivity. AEs of special interest were reported in 28 (0.4%) participants in Group 1 and 4 (0.1%) participants in Group 2; none were considered related to vaccination. Febrile convulsion was the most frequently reported AE of special interest: 25 (0.4%) participants in Group 1; and 2 (<0.1%) in Group 2. There were no cases of Japanese encephalitis reported. No Grade 3 immediate systemic AEs were reported after any JE-CV vaccination.ConclusionsOur study did not identify any new safety concerns with JE-CV and confirms its good safety profile.This study was registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01981967; Universal Trial Number: U1111-1127-7052)