Childhood emotional abuse and problematic social networking sites use in a sample of Italian adolescents: The mediating role of deficiencies in self-other differentiation and uncertain reflective functioning.

Alessandro Musetti,Joël Billieux,Adriano Schimmenti,Vladan Starcevic,Valentina Boursier,Paola Corsano

doi:10.1002/jclp.23138

Abstract

ObjectiveChildhood emotional abuse (CEA) is associated with various negative mental health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the association between CEA and problematic social networking site (SNS) use in a sample of Italian adolescents.DesignUsing structural equation modeling, the study examined whether the relationship between CEA and problematic SNS use was sequentially mediated by self‐other differentiation and uncertain reflective functioning in 1308 Italian adolescents (628 males, age range 13–19 years).ResultsA history of CEA was positively associated with problematic SNS use. Furthermore, deficiencies in self‐other differentiation and uncertain reflective functioning partially mediated the relationship between CEA and problematic SNS use.ConclusionsThe present study provides additional insight into the psychological dynamics underpinning problematic SNS use among adolescents. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Highlights

Social networking sites (SNS) have progressively become one of the most widely used means of online communication (Hussain & Starcevic, 2020)
Design: Using structural equation modeling, the study examined whether the relationship between Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and problematic social networking site (SNS) use was sequentially mediated by self‐other differentiation and uncertain reflective functioning in 1308 Italian adolescents (628 males, age range 13–19 years)
These types of social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat) have been defined as “a networked communication platform in which participants (1) have uniquely identifiable profiles that consist of user‐supplied content, content provided by other users, and/or system‐provided data; (2) can publicly articulate connections that can be viewed and traversed by others; and (3) can consume, produce, and/or interact with streams of user‐generated content provided by their connections on the site” (Ellison & Boyd, 2013, p. 158)

Summary

Introduction

Social networking sites (SNS) have progressively become one of the most widely used means of online communication (Hussain & Starcevic, 2020). In support of the clinical relevance of the phenomenon, various psychiatric disorders and maladaptive outcomes have been found to co‐occur with problematic SNS use, in adolescents (Hussain & Griffiths, 2018). They include depression (Shensa et al, 2017; Worsley et al, 2018), anxiety (Andreassen et al, 2016; Ruggieri et al, 2020), stress (Müller et al, 2016; Worsley et al, 2018), poor family functioning (Wartberg et al, 2020), difficulties with emotion regulation (Marino et al, 2020), low self‐esteem (Saiphoo et al, 2020), and insecurity about one's own body image (Gioia et al, 2020)

Methods

Results

Conclusion