Adult Attachment Orientations and Social Networking Site Addiction: The Mediating Effects of Online Social Support and the Fear of Missing Out.

Chang Liu,Jian-Ling Ma

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02629

Abstract

Evidence supports predictive roles of adult attachment orientations for the maintenance of social networking site (SNS) addiction, but the underlying mechanisms are mostly unknown. Based on attachment theory, this study explored whether online social support and the fear of missing out mediated the relationship between insecure attachment and social networking site addiction among 463 college students in China. A questionnaire was used to collect data using the Experience in Close Relationship Scale—Short Form, online social support scale, fear of missing out scale, and Chinese Social Media Addiction Scale. The results showed that online social support and fear of missing out mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and social networking site addiction in parallel paths and serially, and online social support negatively mediated the relationship between avoidant attachment and social networking site addiction. Theoretically, the present study contributes to the field by showing how insecure attachment is linked to SNS addiction. Practically, these findings could aid in future studies on SNS addiction prevention and interventions. Limitations of the present study were discussed.

Highlights

A social networking site (SNS) has been defined as an online service platform or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks and social relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections (Wikipedia, 2012)
This study explored whether online social support and the fear of missing out mediated the relationship between insecure attachment and social networking site addiction among 463 college students in China
The results showed that online social support and fear of missing out mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and social networking site addiction in parallel paths and serially, and online social support negatively mediated the relationship between avoidant attachment and social networking site addiction

Summary

Introduction

A social networking site (SNS) has been defined as an online service platform or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks and social relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections (Wikipedia, 2012). SNSs have considerable benefits, excessive use of SNS has been found to have detrimental effects on human behavior (Marino et al, 2018a). Many scholars have explored factors associated with SNS addiction, among which attachment has received much attention (Blackwell et al, 2017; Monacis et al, 2017; Flynn et al, 2018; Worsley et al, 2018a; Chen, 2019; D’Arienzo et al, 2019; Marino et al, 2019). The underlying mechanisms between attachment and SNS addiction remain unclear. The present study aimed to explore the possible mediating roles of online social support and “the fear of missing out” (FOMO) in the association between attachment and SNS addiction.

Methods

Results

Conclusion