Problematic use or addiction? A scoping review on conceptual and operational definitions of negative social networking sites use in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to assess the conceptual and operational descriptions of negative social networking site (SNS) use in adolescents. A search was conducted among four databases, following the guidelines set forth in the PRISMA-ScR. The search resulted in 1503 articles, of which 112 met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the negative use of SNS has been conceptualised from two approaches: (1) the component model of addiction and (2) a cognitive-behavioural problematic use paradigm. Thirty-seven instruments assessing this problem were found, with the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale and its adaptations being the most widely used ones. These instruments dimensions were vaguely defined and often overlapped with one another. In conclusion, no standardised theoretical framework exists to assess negative SNS use in adolescents. This lack of a theoretical definition makes it difficult to compare results among studies and determine the true extent of the problem.

Viral internet challenges scale in preadolescents: An exploratory study.

In recent years, viral challenges on the Internet have become a very frequent phenomenon. These allude to the actions that are proposed to Internet users to record themselves performing a challenge and disseminate it on different online platforms so that other users will also perform it. Despite its rapid expansion, there is no evidence of any validated assessment tool of this phenomenon. To meet this need, the Viral Internet Challenges Scale (VICH-S) was designed. The main objective of this study was to establish the psychometric properties of this scale, the prevalence of different types of challenges (social, solidary, and dangerous), as well as the single or conjoint performance of these types of challenges using the VICH-S. Furthermore, the construct validity of the scale was tested with these variables: Fear of Missing Out, Loss of Connection (nomophobia), Self-Online, and Emotional Attention Online. Participants were 417 preadolescents (41.2% boys) with age ranging from 10 to 14 years. Exploratory factor analysis of the VICH-S scale revealed the existence of two factors: Challenge Satisfaction and Social Motivation. Convergent validity indicators showed positive and significant correlations between these two dimensions and the Fear of Missing Out, Loss of Connection (nomophobia), Self-Online, and Emotional Attention Online. The most frequent challenges were social challenges (80.3%), followed by solidary (20.6%) and dangerous challenges (7.7%). This study has relevant implications, as the VICH-S presents adequate psychometric properties to evaluate this barely explored and growing phenomenon of viral challenges on the Internet in preadolescence.

Relationship between cyberbullying and health-related quality of life in a sample of children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a well-known construct that refers to a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Its relationship with multiple forms of violence, including bullying, has been widely explored, but this is not the case for cyberbullying. The main objective is to analyze how HRQoL varies depending on the role played in cyberbullying, its temporal stability, and gender and age differences. METHOD: An analytical and longitudinal study was conducted at two temporal moments. At Time 1 (December 2015), 920 Spanish students aged between 11 and 18 years participated (Mage = 13.36, SD = 1.83: 48.9% boys and 51.1% girls). At Time 2 (April 2016), there were 313 participants (Mage 12.81 years, SD = 1.59: 53.4% boys and 46.6% girls). We used the Cyberbullying Test (technological scale) and the Spanish version of the KIDSCREEN-52. RESULTS: Cybervictims and cyberbully-victims present worse scores in all dimensions of the KIDSCREEN-52 (p < .001), compared to cyberbystanders or uninvolved individuals. There are gender differences only in cyberaggression and cyberbystanding. There are significant inverse correlations between all the dimensions of the KIDSCREEN-52 and cybervictimization, with Bullying (r = - .603, p < .001), Mood (r = - .329, p < .001), and School environment (r = - .327, p < .001) being particularly relevant. There were statistically significant differences between T1 and T2 for cyberbystanding (lower scores at T2). CONCLUSION: Cybervictims and cyberbully-victims have worse quality of life in all the dimensions than uninvolved individuals, especially in Psychological well-being, School environment, and Bullying.