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Reliability, factor structure, and criterion validity: testing the problematic social media use scale in Chinese
Manyun Li1, Tieqiao Liu1, Xuyi Wang1
1Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Background:
Despite the increasing prevalence of problematic use of social media (PUSM) in the general population and in college students, there remains no fully agreed-upon clinical definition or assessment tool to identify and characterize PUSM. Caplan's cognitive-behavioral model of generalized problematic use of the internet may provide a conceptual basis for understanding PUSM.
Methods:
The present study aimed to test the psychometric properties of Caplan's model in the context of PUSM among Chinese college students. The Chinese version of the Problematic Social Media Use Scale (PSMUS, including five subscales: preference for online social interaction (POSI), mood regulation, cognitive preoccupation, compulsive use, and negative outcomes) was administered to Chinese college students.
Results:
Data from 788 students (mean age = 20.92 ± 2.74 years, 23.52% male) were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the feasibility of Caplan's model in the context of PUSM. Structural equation modeling revealed that POSI was a key factor which directly/indirectly (via mood-regulation-oriented PUSM) related to deficient self-regulation, which strongly related to negative social media outcomes (β = 0.85, p < .001), explaining 72% of their variance.
Conclusion:
The results support the adequate psychometric properties of the PSMUS in Chinese college students, thereby substantiating its utility in assessing PUSM in this population.
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