Messages textes instantanés (MTI) : psychopathologie, styles d’attachement et traits de personnalité limite en population étudiante

Abstract

BackgroundText messages sent from a mobile phone have considerably increased over the last few years and it now dominates the landscape of interpersonal communication among young adults. With this increasing number of text messages users, numerous studies have focused on both its positive and negative effects. The excessive use of text messaging has attracted attention from psychiatrists, psychologists and educators, who pointed out its associations with many psychiatric disorders. Although numerous studies have been conducted worldwide, there is no study in a French sample. ObjectivesThe main goal of our study was to assess the rate of problematic text messaging in a French students sample, and to explore its relationships with some psychopathological, attachment and personality variables, taking gender differences into account. Materials and methodsThe study was conducted among 518 participants aged from 18 to 35 (M=23; SD=2.75). Data were collected trough a global online questionnaire constituted of several scales. This questionnaire consisted of a sociodemographic section (age, sex, marital status, studies), a questionnaire assessing the Self perception of Text Message Dependency (TMDS), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D10), the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale (SIAS-SPS), the attachment styles using the Relationship Scale Questionnaire (RSQ) and borderline personality traits with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-4+). ResultsIn the entire population, almost 5 % (n=25) of participants were affected by a problematic text messaging use, 40 % (n=207) had a risk to develop one, and 55 % (n=286) were not considered as problematic or at risk users. There were significant differences between the two populations. The dependent sample displayed social and phobia anxiety, borderline personality traits, depressive symptoms, secure and anxious attachment styles, while the non-dependant sample revealed only depressive symptoms. Among men, problematic text messaging, was associated with secure attachment style and borderline personality traits, however women combined depressive symptoms, social anxiety, secure attachment style and borderline personality traits. ConclusionsFew studies have examined the relationships between problematic text messaging use, psychopathology, attachment, personality variables, and none among a French sample. This explorative research should be completed with studies focusing on causal relationships between problematic text messaging use and psychopathological, interpersonal and personality characteristics.