Emerging adults and Facebook use: the validation of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS)

Da Veiga, GF, Sotero, L, Pontes, HM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8020-7623, Cunha, D, Portugal, A and Relvas, AP, 2018. Emerging adults and Facebook use: the validation of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. ISSN 1557-1874

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Abstract

Based on the six key components of addiction, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) is a widely used instrument to assess Facebook addiction. This study aimed to conduct a psychometric validation in a Portuguese sample of emerging adults (ages 18 to 29 years). The construct validity analyses confirmed the one-factor solution and a statistically significant association found between Facebook addiction and Preference for Online Social Interaction, measured by the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2, warranted the scale criterion validity. Internal consistency was scrutinized using Cronbach's α (α = .87) and stability measured by test-retest (r = .94). Associations between BFAS scores and Brief Symptom Inventory dimensions scores (e.g., interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety) and the GPIUS2 subscale, deficient self-regulation, scores were evaluated. A subsample with higher levels of addiction was analyzed. In summary, the results of the present study support the use of the Portuguese version of the BFAS in both research and clinical milieus. Further implications for research and practice were considered.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Creators:	Da Veiga, G.F., Sotero, L., Pontes, H.M., Cunha, D., Portugal, A. and Relvas, A.P.
Publisher:	Springer
Date:	30 November 2018
ISSN:	1557-1874
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s11469-018-0018-2 DOI 18 Publisher Item Identifier
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	06 Dec 2018 15:40
Last Modified:	06 Dec 2018 15:41
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/35258

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