Over the past decade, the Uses and Gratifications theory has driven research on the motives behind social media use. The three most commonly explored motives have been: maintaining relationships, ...seeking information, and entertainment. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Scale of Motives for Using Social Networking Sites (SMU-SNS), a measure to assess a wider range of motives for using Social Networking Sites than have previously been researched. A multi-method design with different samples of high-school and university students was used. First, to develop the pool of items, a literature review and a focus group study (n = 48, age range = 16-21) was conducted. Second, to reduce and refine the pool of items a pilot study (n = 168, age range = 14-24) was performed. Third, a validation study (n = 1102, age range = 13-25) was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the SMU-SNS. Cross-validation using EFA and CFA resulted in a final version comprising 27 items distributed in nine factors (Dating, New Friendships, Academic Purposes, Social Connectedness, Following and Monitoring Others, Entertainment, seeking Social Recognition, Self-expression, and seeking Information). Internal consistency was excellent and evidence of measurement invariance across gender and age was largely achieved. The SMU-SNS scores significantly correlated with other relevant variables, including age, gender, certain personality traits, social support, loneliness, and life satisfaction. Overall, findings supported the SMU-SNS as a valid and reliable measure to assess youth's motives for using Social Networking Sites. Psychometric and general implications are discussed.
Objectives
This study examined associations between maternal psychologically controlling parenting and adolescents’ responses to rule‐setting as well as the link between both study variables and ...adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems.
Method
Both clinical and nonclinical adolescents reported upon maternal psychological control, responses to rule‐setting (i.e., oppositional defiance, submissive compliance, negotiation, and accommodation) and both adolescents and mothers reported upon adolescents’ problems.
Results
Perceived psychological control related positively to adolescents’ oppositional defiance and submissive compliance and negatively to negotiation and accommodation. Further, an integrated path model indicated that psychological control related to externalizing problems via oppositional defiance and internalizing problems via submissive compliance.
Conclusions
Psychological control relates to different types of problem behaviors via diverse responses to maternal rule‐setting. The discussion emphasizes the importance of future prevention and intervention programs to focus on both parenting and on adolescents’ active contribution to their socialization process.
Framed on Self-Determination Theory, this study sought to examine the interplay between parents' and adolescents' need satisfaction and need frustration, as well as to investigate the potential ...mediating role of autonomy-supportive and psychologically controlling parenting. Whether parents' dispositional mindfulness moderated the relation between parental need frustration and parenting was also investigated. Participants were 213 clinically referred adolescents between 12 and 17 years (M
age = 14.36; 55.9% girls) and 225 parents (85.3% mothers). Findings from structural equation models revealed a bright and a dark pathway linking parents' and adolescents' need-based experiences through parenting. Specifically, parental need satisfaction was positively related to autonomy-supportive parenting, which, in turn, contributed to greater adolescents' need satisfaction. In contrast, parents' need frustration yielded a positive association with psychologically controlling parenting, which, in turn, positively related to adolescents' need frustration. Latent moderation analyses also indicated that parents' mindfulness played a role as a moderator of the relationship between parental need frustration and psychological control; the association was attenuated when parents reported higher levels of mindfulness. Implications for the promotion of positive parenting among families of adolescents with mental health problems are outlined.
The global outbreak of COVID-19 has brought changes in adolescents' daily routines, restrictions to in-person interactions, and serious concerns about the situation. The purpose of this study was to ...explore COVID-19-related concerns, daily routines, and online peer activities during the confinement period according to sex and age groups. Additionally, the relationship of these factors and optimism along with adolescents' frustration was examined. Participants included 1246 Spanish students aged 16-25 years old (M = 19.57; SD = 2.53; 70.8% girls). The results indicated that the top concern was their studies. COVID-19-related concerns, daily routines, and online peer activities varied by sex and age. Findings also revealed moderate to high levels of frustration, which were associated with adolescents' main concerns, online peer activities, maintaining routines, and optimism. The results are discussed in light of their implications in designing support programs and resources to reduce the psychological impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health.
A central tenet of Self-Determination Theory is that the basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence represent universal psychological nutriments for adolescents’ functioning. ...This study contributed to the investigation of this universality claim by examining whether the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs would relate, respectively, to adolescents’ wellbeing and psychological maladjustment across gender, age, and socioeconomic status (SES). Having gathered data in a large sample of Spanish adolescents (
N
= 1047;
M
= 14.68,
SD
= 1.53), through a series of confirmatory factor analyses we began by providing validity evidence for the Spanish child-adapted version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS; Chen et al. in Mot Emot 39:216–236,
2015b
.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9450-1
). A 6-first-order factor model, distinguishing the satisfaction and frustration of each of the three needs, better represented the data. In addition, evidence for measurement and structural invariance of the BPNSFS-child version across the three sociodemographic characteristics was largely achieved. Structural equation models further revealed that need satisfaction contributed uniquely to well-being, whereas need frustration contributed uniquely to adolescents’ psychological adjustment problems. Further, multigroup comparisons generally supported invariant patterns of relations across gender, age, and SES groups. Results are discussed in light of the generalizability of need-based dynamics among adolescents.
Over the last few years, the protective role of parental monitoring on adolescent adjustment (i.e., active parental efforts aimed at setting limits and tracking adolescents’ activities and ...whereabouts) has been challenged. Recent research has shifted attention to the conditions under which monitoring may be more or less effective. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study investigated the role of parents’ autonomy-supportive and psychologically controlling parenting in effects of parental monitoring on adolescents’ adjustment. It also considered the role of adolescents’ clinical status (i.e., clinically referred vs non-referred). Adopting a person-centered approach, we aimed to identify naturally occurring profiles of monitoring, autonomy-support, and psychological control and to examine differences between these profiles in terms of life satisfaction, positive affect, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants included 218 referred (
M
age
= 14.44, 56% girls) and 218 matched adolescents from a larger sample of 1056 community (
M
age = 14.83, 52.9% girls). Multigroup Latent Profile Analyses revealed five parenting profiles which were structurally equivalent in both samples: high monitoring with either high autonomy support or high psychological control, low monitoring with either high autonomy-support or high psychological control, and an average profile. Referred youth were significantly more present in the average profile and in the profiles characterized by high levels of psychological control. As hypothesized, profiles showed a differential association with adolescents’ self-reported adjustment, with the high monitoring—high autonomy support profile yielding the most optimal and the low monitoring—high psychological control profile yielding the worst outcomes. Associations between profiles and outcomes were similar for referred and non-referred adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of considering the parenting climate (i.e., autonomy-supportive versus psychologically controlling) to understand effects of parental monitoring during adolescence.
This study explores the relationships of self-control with age and psychological maladjustment in adolescents and young adults. The sample consisted of 1,600 randomly selected Spanish adolescents and ...young adults, aged 12-34 years (M = 22.28, SD = 6.94). Measures of self-control, Internet addiction, and anxiety-depressive symptoms were administered. Control variables included age and sex. Results indicated that adolescents between 15 and 19 years old showed the lowest self-control scores, while older participants showed greater scores. Low scores in self-control were significantly associated with greater substance consumption, more anxiety-depression symptoms, and higher scores on the Internet addiction scale. Also, participants with high scores on the addiction scale scored lower on self-control. These results evidence associations between self-control and some emotional-behavioral problems, and suggest the importance of promoting self-control to prevent Internet addiction, substance consumption, and anxiety-depression in adolescents and young adults.
•Parental competences were related to lower levels of anxious-depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation.•Parental competences were associated to higher levels of adolescents’ mindfulness.•Mindfulness ...mediated the association between parental competences and anxious-depressive symptoms.•A double mediation effect of mindfulness and anxious-depressive symptoms on the association between parental competence and suicidal ideation was found.•The overall associations were equivalent for boys and girls.
Anxious-depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are common phenomena during adolescence. Ample research has evidenced that certain parental competences (i.e., parental warmth, autonomy support, and family communication) play a key role in the prevention of both internalizing problems. However, the mechanisms that explain the preventive effects of these parental competences are little understood. For those mechanisms to be explained, the present study aimed at investigating the mediating role of adolescent mindfulness on the association between parental competences, anxious-depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. It was also explored whether these relations were (dis)similar across gender. A total of 1405 adolescents (53.1% girls) aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.79, SD = 1.54) participated in the research. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire during school hours. Structural equation models analysis showed that the association between parental competences and anxious-depressive symptoms was partially mediated by adolescent mindfulness. Meanwhile, the association between parental competences and suicidal ideation was mediated through a double indirect effect via mindfulness and anxious-depressive symptoms. Gender did not moderate previous associations. This study offers evidence of the contribution of mindfulness in explaining the processes that underlie the relationship between parental competences and certain internalizing problems in adolescents. Further, these findings emphasize the need for future interventions to foster both positive parenting and adolescents’ mindfulness to prevent anxious-depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation.
The widespread use of online social networks (OSN) among young people has been accompanied by an increase of publications about them and their effects on the psychosocial development of users. ...Previous panoramic reviews on OSN research are now outdated and do not provide a comprehensive view of the complexity of the user experience. The aims of this systematic review were three: to identify quantitative studies on OSN; to build a taxonomy about the user experience; and to classify studied variables in the topics and subtopics. The literature search and review according to PICoS strategy led to 546 identified publications that met the eligibility criteria. The taxonomy included nine major topics: overall use; activities and types of use; perceptions and attitudes OSN; the social network of online contacts; needs and motives for use; profile and privacy management; social processes; identity processes; and cognitive-emotional processes related to use of OSN. The three most studied topics were: overall use; activities and types of use; and social processes related to use of OSN. Classification and quantification of the different variables studied about the users' experience is detailed. Several theoretical perspectives are discussed, as well as the gaps and challenges in OSN research. The proposed taxonomy could be useful for researchers to better delineate the aims of future studies.
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