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The Protective Role of Resilience in the Development of Social Media Addiction in Tertiary Students and Psychometric Properties of the Slovenian Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS)

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Žmavc

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Andrej Šorgo

    (Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

  • Branko Gabrovec

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Nuša Crnkovič

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Katarina Cesar

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

  • Špela Selak

    (National Institute of Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Abstract

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became one of the most utilized sources of information relating to the disease. With the increased reliance on social media, the risk of excessive use and the development of social media addiction emerges. The aim of the present study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Slovenian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, and to explore how psychological resilience affects social media addiction symptoms directly and indirectly through symptoms of depression, anxiety and mental distress. A large online cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2021 among Slovenian tertiary students ( N = 4868). The results showed the high reliability, unidimensionality and criterion validity of the Slovenian Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. The proposed structural model fit the data well and showed a significant direct positive effect of depression and stress on social media addiction. Moreover, the majority of the negative effects of psychological resilience on social media addiction (87.2%) were indirect, through depression and stress symptoms, whereas resilience had a significantly smaller impact on social media addiction by reducing anxiety symptoms. The overall prevalence of social media addiction symptoms was 4.6%, with females exhibiting higher proportions than men. Additionally, female social media users reported a complete absence of social media addiction symptoms less often compared to males. Future research should further explore the mechanisms behind social media addiction, in order to gain a better understanding of the apparently different risk levels for both genders.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Žmavc & Andrej Šorgo & Branko Gabrovec & Nuša Crnkovič & Katarina Cesar & Špela Selak, 2022. "The Protective Role of Resilience in the Development of Social Media Addiction in Tertiary Students and Psychometric Properties of the Slovenian Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13178-:d:940963
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bhargava, Vikram R. & Velasquez, Manuel, 2021. "Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 321-359, July.
    2. Branko Gabrovec & Špela Selak & Nuša Crnkovič & Katarina Cesar & Andrej Šorgo, 2022. "Perceived Satisfaction with Online Study during COVID-19 Lockdown Correlates Positively with Resilience and Negatively with Anxiety, Depression, and Stress among Slovenian Postsecondary Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-11, June.
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