Prevalence of social network addiction and its association with depression, anxiety, and stress among Iranian internet users

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant professor, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD. student in clinical psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

3 PhD. student in addiction studies, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Regarding the invention of smart phones and improved Internet connectivity, the use of social network sites has become an essential part of people’s daily life. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with social network addiction among Iranian users at a national level.
Materials and Methods: The statistical population of the present study included all Iranian internet users who use social network sites in 2018 in Iran. Participants were 5,360 individuals recruited from an online survey. Social network addiction was measured using Social Network Addiction Test (SNA-T), and factors associated with social network addiction were measured using Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21). Descriptive and Logistic regression tests were used.
Results: It is indicated that 29.7%, 11.2%, and 0.9% of the participants, had low, moderate and severe addiction to social network sites, respectively. Also, adolescents and youth were significantly more addicted to social network sites than adults. Participants with high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, were significantly more addicted to social network sites than participants with low levels of depression, anxiety and stress (P< 0.001).
Conclusion: The findings highlight the prevalence of social network addiction and co-occurrence with depression, anxiety, and stress among Iranian population. Whether we consider social network addiction as a primary diagnosis or as an outcome of other psychiatric disorders, it should be noted and considered in psychiatric treatment.

Keywords

References

  1. Moqbel M, Kock N. Unveiling the dark side of social networking sites: Personal and work-related consequences of social networking site addiction. Information management 2018; 55: 109-19.
  2. Boyd D, Ellison N. Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. IEEE engineering management review 2010; 3: 16-31.
  3. Ellison NB, Vitak J, Gray R, Lampe C. Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. J Comput Mediat Commun 2014; 19: 855-70.
  4. Griffiths MD. Social networking addiction: Emerging themes and issues. J Addict Res Ther 2013; 4: 201-34.
  5. Facebook. Company Info: Facebook Newsroom. [cited 2017]. Available from: https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info.
  6. Ho SS, Lwin MO, Lee EW. Till logout do us part? Comparison of factors predicting excessive social network sites use and addiction between Singaporean adolescents and adults. Comput Human Behav 2017; 75: 632-42.
  7. Durkee T, Kaess M, Carli V, Parzer P, Wasserman C, Floderus B, et al. Prevalence of pathological internet use among adolescents in Europe: demographic and social factors. Addiction 2012; 107: 2210-22.
  8. Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD. Online social networking and addiction-a review of the psychological literature. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2011; 8: 3528-52.
  9. Turel O, Romashkin A, Morrison KM. Health outcomes of information system use lifestyles among adolescents: videogame addiction, sleep curtailment and cardio-metabolic deficiencies. PloS One 2016; 11: 154-64.
  10. Andreassen CS, Torsheim T, Brunborg GS, Pallesen S. Development of a Facebook addiction scale. Psychol Rep 2012; 110: 501-17.
  11. He Q, Turel O, Bechara A. Brain anatomy alterations associated with Social Networking Site (SNS) addiction. Scientific reports 2017; 7: 450-64.
  12. Pelling EL, White KM. The theory of planned behavior applied to young people's use of social networking web sites. CyberPsychol Behav 2009; 12: 755-95.
  13. Davenport SW, Bergman SM, Bergman JZ, Fearrington ME. Twitter versus Facebook: Exploring the role of narcissism in the motives and usage of different social media platforms. Comput Human Behav 2014; 32: 212-20.
  14. Balakrishnan V, Shamim A. Malaysian Facebookers: Motives and addictive behaviours unraveled. Comput Human Behav 2013; 29: 1342-9.
  15. SPSS I. Statistics, version 20. New York: Somers; 2012.
  16. Henry JD, Crawford JR. The short‐form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS‐21): Construct validity and normative data in a large non‐clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol 2005; 44: 227-39.
  17. Asghari A, Saed F, Dibajnia P. Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) in a non-clinical Iranian sample. Int J Psychol 2008; 2: 82-102.
  18. Poli R, Agrimi E. Internet addiction disorder: prevalence in an Italian student population. Nord J Psychiatry 2012; 66: 55-9.
  19. Niemz K, Griffiths M, Banyard P. Prevalence of pathological Internet use among university students and correlations with self-esteem, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and disinhibition. Cyberpsychol Behav 2005; 8: 562-70.
  20. Pempek TA, Yermolayeva YA, Calvert SL. College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. J Appl Dev Psychol 2009; 30: 227-38.
  21. Thompson SH, Lougheed E. Frazzled by Facebook? An exploratory study of gender differences in social network communication among undergraduate men and women. Coll Stud J 2012; 46: 88-99.
  22. Larson RW. Toward a psychology of positive youth development. Am Psychologist 2000; 55: 170.
  23. Davis KE. Young People's Digital Lives: The impact of interpersonal relationships and digital media use on adolescents' sense of identity. Harvard: Harvard University; 2011.
  24. Prencipe A, Kesek A, Cohen J, Lamm C, Lewis MD, Zelazo PD. Development of hot and cool executive function during the transition to adolescence. J Exp Child Psychol 2011; 108: 621-37.
  25. Dong G, Lu Q, Zhou H, Zhao X. Impulse inhibition in people with Internet addiction disorder: electrophysiological evidence from a Go/NoGo study. Neurosci Lett 2010; 485: 138-42.
  26. Dieris-Hirche J, Bottel L, Bielefeld M, Steinbüchel T, Kehyayan A, Dieris B, et al. Media use and Internet addiction in adult depression: A case-control study. Comput Human Behav 2017; 68: 96-103.
  27. Charlton JP. A factor‐analytic investigation of computer ‘addiction’and engagement. Br J Psychol 2002; 93: 329-44.
  28. Wickel TM. Narcissism and social networking sites: the act of taking selfies. Elon journal of undergraduate research in communications 2015; 6(1): 5-12.
  29. Carli V, Durkee T, Wasserman D, Hadlaczky G, Despalins R, Kramarz E, et al. The association between pathological internet use and comorbid psychopathology: A systematic review. Psychopathology 2013; 46: 1-13.
  30. Ko C-H, Yen J-Y. The association between Internet addiction and psychiatric disorder: A review of the literature. Eur Psychiatry 2012; 27: 1-8.
  31. Pani PP, Maremmani I, Trogu E, Gessa GL, Ruiz P, Akiskal HS. Delineating the psychic structure of substance abuse and addictions: should anxiety, mood and impulse-control dysregulation be included? J Affect Disord 2010; 122: 185-97.
  32. Pettinati HM, O-Brien CP, Dundon WD. Current status of co-occurring mood and substance use disorders: A new therapeutic target. Focus 2015; 13: 356-62.
  33. Shaffer HJ, Hall MN, Vander Bilt J. Computer addiction: A critical consideration. Am J Orthopsychiatry 2000; 70: 162.
  34. Montag C, Bey K, Sha P, Li M, Chen YF, Liu WY, et al. Is it meaningful to distinguish between generalized and specific Internet addiction?. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2015; 7: 20-6.
  35. Merikangas KR, He J-p, Burstein M, Swanson SA, Avenevoli S, Cui L, et al. Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2010; 49: 980-9.
  36. Deady M, Teesson M, J Kay-Lambkin F. Treatments for co-occurring depression and substance use in young people: a systematic review. Curr Drug Res Rev 2014; 7: 3-17.
Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 21, Issue 6
November and December 2019
Pages 349-357

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics