Facebook Addiction and Emerging Adults: The influence of sociodemographic variables, family communication, and differentiation of self

Abstract

espanolEl uso creciente de las redes sociales los ubica entre las actividades on-line mas populares. Facebook, en particular, esta ganando mas y mas usuarios y para algunas personas puede convertirse en un comportamiento adictivo on-line. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue evaluar la influencia de factores sociodemograficos (e.g., genero, edad), individuales (e.g., diferenciacion del self) y familiares (e.g., comunicacion familiar) en la adiccion a Facebook, dentro de la poblacion portuguesa de adultos emergentes (edad entre 18-30). Para este proposito, se recolecto una muestra de 403 participantes y se aplico un protocolo con varios instrumentos (por ejemplo, COMPA, BSI, DSI-R, BFAS). Los resultados mostraron que las personas: (1) mujeres, (2) con edades comprendidas entre 24 y 30 anos, (3) con menor diferenciacion del self, (4) que se distancian fisica o emocionalmente de otras personas importantes (corte emocional) y ( 5) quienes usan un patron negativo de comunicacion con sus padres muestran un mayor uso de Facebook y un mayor riesgo de adiccion. Tambien se analizaron otros indicadores psicopatologicos (por ejemplo, depresion, ansiedad y sensibilidad interpersonal), revelando que estan asociados con el adiccion a Facebook. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio contribuye al campo de la investigacion sobre las adicciones a internet y tiene repercusiones en la prevencion y la intervencion clinica. espanolThe growing use of social networking sites places them among the most popular online activities. In particular, Facebook is gaining increasing numbers of users. For some individuals, such activity can develop into addictive online behaviour. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of sociodemographic (e.g., gender, age), individual (e.g., differentiation of self), and family (e.g., family communication) factors on Facebook addiction in Portuguese emerging adults aged between 18 and 30 years. The study included 403 participants, who followed a protocol in which several instruments were administered (e.g., COMPA, BSI, DSI-R, and BFAS). The results showed higher Facebook use and a higher risk of addiction in individuals with the following characteristics: (1) female gender; (2) aged between 24 and 30 years; (3) lower differentiation of self; (4) physically or emotionally distanced from significant others (emotional cut-off); and (5) negative communication patterns with their parents. An association was also found between other psychopathological indicators (e.g., depression, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity) and Facebook use. Thus, the present study contributes to the field of research on online addictions and has implications for prevention and clinical intervention