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. 2022 Aug 22:10:907522.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.907522. eCollection 2022.

Validation of the Social Media Disorder Scale using network analysis in a large representative sample of Czech adolescents

Nika Šablatúrová  1 , Karel Rečka  1 , Lukas Blinka  1
Affiliations

Validation of the Social Media Disorder Scale using network analysis in a large representative sample of Czech adolescents

Nika Šablatúrová et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The importance of studying the excessive use of social media in adolescents is increasing and so is the need for in-depth evaluations of the psychometric properties of the measurement tools. This study investigated the properties of the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS) in a large representative sample of Czech adolescents.

Methods: We analyzed the representative sample of 13,377 Czech adolescents (50.9% boys), 11-16 years old, who participated in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey (2017-18), using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and network models. Furthermore, we evaluated the measurement invariance and constructed the validity of the SMDS.

Results: We found support for a single dominant factor but not for strict unidimensionality. Several residual correlations were identified. The strongest were for: problems-conflicts-deceptions; persistence-escape; and preoccupation-tolerance-withdrawal. Girls, particularly 13- and 15-year-olds, scored higher than boys in the same age group, and 13- and 15-year-olds achieved higher scores than 11-year-olds, although some items were not invariant between the groups. The SMDS was positively related to other online activities, screen time, and falling asleep late, but negatively related to well-being and mental health.

Discussion and conclusions: The SMDS showed solid psychometric properties and construct validity. However, small violations of measurement invariance were detected. Furthermore, the network analysis showed important residual relationships between the items.

Keywords: Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC); Network analysis; adolescents; problematic social media use (PSMU); psychometrics; social media addiction; validation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Residual network model of the Social Media Disorder Scale. Node labels indicate items: 1 = Preoccupation, 2 = Tolerance, 3 = Withdrawal, 4 = Persistence, 5 = Displacement, 6 = Problem, 7 = Deception, 8 = Escape, and 9 = Conflict. Red lines indicate negative edges, blue lines indicate positive edges. Color shades indicate edge weights (stronger edges are darker, weaker edges are lighter).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Network model of the Social Media Disorder Scale. Node labels indicate items: 1 = Preoccupation, 2 = Tolerance, 3 = Withdrawal, 4 = Persistence, 5 = Displacement, 6 = Problem, 7 = Deception, 8 = Escape, and 9 = Conflict. Blue lines indicate positive edges (all edges all positive). Color shades indicate edge weights (stronger edges are darker, weaker edges are lighter).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Edge weights (interaction parameters) and thresholds, with confidence intervals. Numbers in the plots indicate items: 1 = Preoccupation, 2 = Tolerance, 3 = Withdrawal, 4 = Persistence, 5 = Displacement, 6 = Problem, 7 = Deception, 8 = Escape, and 9 = Conflict. Number pairs (in the left plot) indicate which items the edge connects (e.g., “2–1” references the edge between Item 2 and Item 1).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Values of centrality indices and node ranks, with 99.5% confidence intervals. Item (node) numbers indicate: 1 = Preoccupation, 2 = Tolerance, 3 = Withdrawal, 4 = Persistence, 5 = Displacement, 6 = Problem, 7 = Deception, 8 = Escape, and 9 = Conflict.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Latent means of the Social Media Disorder Scale, depending on gender and age.
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