From attachment to addiction: The mediating role of need satisfaction on social networking sites

Abstract

We develop a mediation model to explain the relationship between attachment and Social Networking Site (SNS) addiction. Drawing upon the Needs-Affordances-Features model, we investigate the mediating role of satisfaction of the innate psychological needs that are salient in the SNS context (i.e., need for relatedness, need for self-presentation, and need for autonomy). Based on an empirical study of 314 daily Facebook users, results reveal distinct effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on SNS addiction through the satisfaction of different psychological needs. Satisfaction of the need for relatedness and the need for self-presentation mediates the positive relationship between attachment anxiety and SNS addiction. Satisfaction of these needs also mediates the negative relationship between attachment avoidance and SNS addiction. Satisfaction of the need for autonomy mediates the positive relationship between attachment avoidance and SNS addiction. We conclude the study with the implications for research and practice.