INTERACTION MODEL OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ADDICTION AMONGST COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

The present research is a cross-sectional observational study to examine the role of current life stress on the relationship between three psychosocial factors and social networking sites (SNS) addiction. 307 participants aged 18-28 completed an online questionnaire assessing current life stress, social anxiety, peer relationships, risk attitude and SNS addiction. Employing the problem-behaviour theory as a framework, the following associations of (i) relationships of social anxiety, (ii) peer relationships, and (iii) risk attitude, on SNS addiction were tested using separate analyses. Subsequently, mediation analyses using PROCESS Model 4 (Hayes, 2013) were conducted to examine the mediating role of current life stress on the aforementioned relationships. Overall, higher social anxiety and greater risk attitude were uniquely and significantly associated with greater SNS addiction. No correlation was found between peer relationships and SNS addiction. Current life stress also found to partially mediate the relationship between social anxiety and SNS addiction, and fully mediate the relationship between perceived peer relationships and SNS addiction. Findings found evidence for the far-reaching impacts beyond the virtual walls of SNS. Strategies to address SNS addiction tailored to psychosocial variables found to be associated to this risk behaviour were discussed.