Cross-national validation of the social media disorder scale: findings from adolescents from 44 countries.

Maartje Boer,Regina J J M Van Den Eijnden,Alina Cosma,Leena Paakkari,Jo Inchley,Gonneke W J M Stevens,Claudia Marino,Catrin Finkenauer,Meyran Boniel‐Nissim

doi:10.1111/add.15709

Abstract

There is currently no cross-national validation of a scale that measures problematic social media use (SMU). The present study investigated and compared the psychometric properties of the social media disorder (SMD) scale among young adolescents from different countries. Validation study. Data came from 222 532 adolescents from 44 countries participating in the health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) survey (2017/2018). The HBSC survey was conducted in the European region and Canada. Participants were on average aged 13.54 years (standard deviation = 1.63) and 51.24% were girls. Problematic SMU was measured using the nine-item SMD scale with dichotomous response options. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed good model fit for a one-factor model across all countries (minimum comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.963 and 0.951, maximum root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.057 and 0.060), confirming structural validity. The internal consistency of the items was adequate in all countries (minimum alpha = 0.840), indicating that the scale provides reliable scores. Multi-group CFA showed that the factor structure was measurement invariant across countries (ΔCFI = -0.010, ΔRMSEA = 0.003), suggesting that adolescents' level of problematic SMU can be reliably compared cross-nationally. In all countries, gender and socio-economic invariance was established, and age invariance was found in 43 of 44 countries. In line with prior research, in almost all countries, problematic SMU related to poorer mental wellbeing (range βSTDY = 0.193-0.924, P < 0.05) and higher intensity of online communication (range βSTDY = 0.163-0.635, P < 0.05), confirming appropriate criterion validity. The social media disorder scale appears to be suitable for measuring and comparing problematic social media use among young adolescents across many national contexts.

Highlights

Adolescents are the most digitally connected age group worldwide [1]
In response to the lack of cross-national validation of problematic social media use (SMU) scales, the present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the social media disorder (SMD) scale using nationally representative crossnational data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study
We examined whether the factor structure was comparable across countries (44 countries), gender, age groups (11, 13- and 15-year-olds) and socio-economic status using multi-group Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA)

Summary

Introduction

Research among European adolescents shows that between 2017 and 2019, 77% of 15- and 16-year-olds reported daily use of social media [2], for instance Instagram and Snapchat. Cross-national data from the present Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study shows that, in 2017 and 2018, 4–18% of 15-year-olds reported problematic SMU [6]. There is currently no cross-national validation of a scale that measures problematic social media use (SMU). The present study investigated and compared the psychometric properties of the social media disorder (SMD) scale among young adolescents from different countries. Multi-group CFA showed that the factor structure was measurement invariant across countries (ΔCFI = −0.010, ΔRMSEA = 0.003), suggesting that adolescents’ level of problematic SMU can be reliably compared cross-nationally. Conclusions: The social media disorder scale appears to be suitable for measuring and comparing problematic social media use among young adolescents across many national contexts

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