Assessing Instagram Use Across Cultures: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Abstract

The Instagram and Well-Being Questionnaire (IWBQ) is a 19-item self-report inventory that assesses Instagram and social media use. Item 14 of the measure contains 40 subitems specifically assessing reasons for use. Prior research in Australia regarding Item 14 specifically revealed a three-factor structure: (a) sense of belonging, (b) self-expression, and (c) documentation/curation. This study sought to assess the goodness of fit for this factor structure in a sample of undergraduate college students from the United States. Data were collected from 735 students at two public universities in Southeastern Virginia; 520 of whom were retained for the analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis using the mean and variance-adjusted weighted least squares method was conducted using Mplus 8.1 to assess goodness of model fit. The three-factor model failed to meet criteria for exact or approximate model fit: χ2(87) = 1542.82, p < 0.001; root mean square error of approximation = 0.19, 95 percent confidence interval = 0.18-0.20; comparative fit index = 0.77; Tucker/Lewis index = 0.73. Follow-up exploratory analyses were conducted to assess the model fit after partitioning the sample based on racial identity (African American and Caucasian) to explore this potential sociocultural confound. In both cases, the model did not demonstrate goodness of fit. These results indicate that global crosscultural differences may impact the reasons why individuals use Instagram, meaning the same model may not maintain reliable fit across cultures.