Abstract
For researchers interested in measuring the construct of “Facebook engagement and/or addiction,” there are a number of existing measures including the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, the Facebook Intensity Scale, and the Addictive Tendencies Scale. Currently, there is limited data on the psychometric properties of these three scales, especially among South Asian samples. The present aim was to address this shortfall. A sample of 308 English-speaking Pakistani university students completed the scales, in their original English versions, on two occasions separated by four weeks. Results demonstrated that for each of the scales, across both administrations, satisfactory psychometric properties were found, including internal reliability, temporal stability, and construct validity. Moreover, for these three scales, using confirmatory factor analysis, a one-factor structure was generally found to be a good description of the data for both male and female samples. These data provide further evidence for the reliability and validity of three scales concerned with “Facebook engagement and/or addiction.”
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreassen, C. S., & Pallesen, S. (2014). Social network site addiction—an overview. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 20(25), 4053–4061. https://doi.org/10.2174/13816128113199990616.
Andreassen, C. S., Tosheim, T., Brunborg, G. S., & Pallesen, S. (2012). Development of a Facebook Addiction Scale. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 501–517. https://doi.org/10.2466/02.09.18.PR0.110.2.501-517.
Andreassen, C. S., Griffiths, M. D., Gjertsen, S. R., Krossbakken, E., Kvam, S., & Pallesen, S. (2013). The relationships between behavioural addictions and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(2), 90–99. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.2.2013.003.
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indices in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238.
Burke, M., Marlow, C., & Lento, T. (2010). Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 1909 – 1912. New York, NY: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1753613.
Byrne, B. (1998). Structural equation modelling with Lisrel, Prelis, and Simplis. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cash, H., Rae, C. D., Steel, A. H., & Winkler, A. (2012). Internet addiction: a brief summary of research and practice. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 8(4), 292–298. https://doi.org/10.2174/157340012803520513.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155.
Doan, A. P. (2012). Hooked on games: The lure and cost of video game and internet addiction. Coralville: F.E.P. International, Inc.
Ehrenberg, A. L., Juckes, S. C., White, K. M., & Walsh, S. P. (2008). Personality and self-esteem as predictors of young people’s technology use. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 11(6), 739–741. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0030.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x.
Elphinston, R. A., & Noller, P. (2011). Time to face it! Facebook intrusion and the implications for romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(11), 631–635. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0318.
Enders, C. K., & Bandalos, D. L. (2001). The relative performance of full information maximum likelihood estimation for missing data in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8(3), 430–457. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0803_5.
Facebook (2013). Facebook reports fourth quarter and full year 2012 results. Retrieved from Facebook.com: http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=736911.
Facebook (2018a). Facebook Q4 2017 earnings. Retrieved from investor.fb.com: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2017/Q4/Q4-17-Earnings-call-transcript.pdf.
Facebook (2018b). Facebook reports first quarter 2018 results. Retrieved from investor.fb.com: https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2018/Facebook-Reports-First-Quarter-2018-Results/default.aspx.
Facebook. (2018c). Facebook Q1 2018 results. Retrieved from investor.fb.com.com: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2018/Q1/Q1-2018-Earnings-Presentation-(1).pdf.
Griffiths, M. D. (2005). A “components” model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10(4), 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659890500114359.
Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Facebook addiction: concerns, criticism, and recommendations—a response to Andreassen and colleagues. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 518–520. https://doi.org/10.2466/01.07.18.PR0.110.2.518-520.
Hoyle, R. H., & Panter, A. T. (1995). Writing about structural equation models. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: concepts, issues and applications (pp. 158–198). London: Sage.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3(4), 424–453. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.3.4.424.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1993). Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language. Chicago: Scientific Software Inc.
Kline, P. (2000). The handbook of psychological testing (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Kline, P. (2015). A handbook of test construction (psychology revivals): introduction to psychometric design. London: Methuen.
Koc, M., & Gulyagci, S. (2013). Facebook addiction among Turkish college students: the role of psychological health, demographic, and usage characteristics. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(4), 279–284. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0249.
Pelling, E., & White, K. M. (2009). The theory of planned behaviour applied to young people’s use of social networking websites. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 755–759. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2009.0109.
Raykov, T., & Marcoulides, G. A. (2000). A first course in structural equation modeling. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ross, C., Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Arseneault, J. M., Simmering, M. G., & Orr, R. R. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 578–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2008.12.024.
Schlomer, G. L., Bauman, S., & Card, N. A. (2010). Best practices for missing data management in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018082.
Steiger, J. H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: an interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25(2), 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr2502_4.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: a longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.002.
Tanaka, J. S. (1987). How big is enough? Sample size and goodness-of fit in structural equation models with latent variables. Child Development, 58(1), 134–146. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130296.
Turel, O., & Serenko, A. (2012). The benefits and dangers of enjoyment with social networking websites. European Journal of Information Systems, 21(5), 512–528. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2012.1.
Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook use and college students’ life satisfaction, trust and participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875–901. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01474.x.
Weinstein, A., & Lejoyeux, M. (2010). Internet addiction or excessive use. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 277–283. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2010.491880.
Wilson, K., Fornasier, S., & White, K. M. (2010). Psychological predictors of young adults’ use of social networking sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13, 173-177. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2009.0094.
Wolniczak, I., Cáceres-DelAguila, J. A., Palma-Ardiles, G., Arroyo, K. J., Solís-Visscher, R., Paredes-Yauri, S., et al. (2013). Association between Facebook dependence and poor sleep quality: a study in a sample of undergraduate students in Peru. PLoS One, 8(3), e59087. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059087.
Wu, A. M., Cheung, V. I., Ku, L., & Hung, E. P. (2013). Psychological risk factors of addiction to social networking sites among Chinese smartphone users. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 160–166. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.2.2013.006.
Young, K. S. (2000). Internet addiction: evaluation and treatment. Student British Medical Journal, 7, 394–436.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JT—study concept and design, analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis, research of background literature, and drafting/writing of the manuscript.
CAL—study concept and design, analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis, research of background literature, and drafting/writing of the manuscript.
SM—data collection and drafting/writing of the manuscript.
JAM—analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis, and drafting/writing of the manuscript.
MJB—analysis and interpretation of data, statistical analysis, and drafting/writing of manuscript.
All authors had full access to all data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Turley, J., Lewis, C.A., Musharraf, S. et al. Psychometric Properties of Three Measures of “Facebook Engagement and/or Addiction” Among a Sample of English-Speaking Pakistani University Students. Int J Ment Health Addiction 17, 995–1007 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9963-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9963-z