The road to addiction (might be) paved with good intentions

Motives for social media use and psychological distress among early adolescents

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21190868
AutoresAlexandra Maftei (0000-0001-9700-8794, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, autor de correspondencia), Loredana R Diaconu‐gherasim (0000-0003-3598-5375, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University)
Año2023
Volumen17
Número4
Páginas538-558
Fecha de publicación2023-10-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Children and Media (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1748-2798 • E-ISSN: 1748-2801
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17482798.2023.2255304
OpenAlexW4386742169
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas84

Relying on an extended functionalist perspective, in the present study we investigated how motives underlying social media use (i.e., conformity, social/the need for social relationships), coping (the need for mood regulation), and defensive motives (anti-mattering, i.e., the feeling of not mattering to others) are linked to early adolescents’ psychological distress. We also evaluated the potential mediating role of social media addiction in the relationship between social media use motives and psychological distress in vulnerable social media users, i.e., early adolescents. Our sample consisted of 480 middle-school Romanian students (M = 12.03, SD = .78, 52.3% females). The results suggested that social relationships, mood regulation, and anti-mattering motives were positively associated with social media addiction, and that social media addiction was positively related to psychological distress. Anti-mattering and mood regulation were positively associated with psychological distress. Furthermore, social media addiction mediated the relations between the motives for social media use and psychological distress. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for knowledge, prevention, and interventions regarding social media addiction among early adolescents

Addiction · Conformity · Developmental psychology · Distress · Mood · Psychiatry · Social media · Child Development and Digital Technology · Clinical Psychology · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Psychology