TITLE:
Study on Influence of Internal Working Models and Gender Differences on Addiction of Social Network Sites in Japanese University Students
AUTHORS:
Akihito Fujimori, Tasuku Yamazaki, Mayo Sato, Hideki Hayashi, Yoji Fujiwara, Taisuke Matsusaka
KEYWORDS:
Social Network Sites (SNSs), SNSs Addiction, Internal Working Models (IWMs), Ambivalence Type, Gender Differences
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.6 No.14,
November
5,
2015
ABSTRACT: In recent decades, social network sites (SNSs) have become more popular and SNSs addiction has become a serious social problem. However, few studies have examined the effect of a person’s internal working model (IWM) on addiction, which determine how attachment processes operate throughout the life course. This study aims at investigating the influence of IWMs and the psychological state, particularly loneliness and interpersonal trust, and of gender differences on addiction of SNSs in Japanese university students. Participants were 284 undergraduates in Japan (130 males, 154 females) who were evaluated with an original questionnaire about SNSs addiction, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, Interpersonal Trust Scale, and Internal Working Model Scale. We conducted multiple regression analyses by setting the entry method, one of which was forced entry, to examine the relationship between the dependent variable (SNSs addiction) and the independent variables (other factors) in each gender. The results show that SNSs addiction is influenced by an ambivalent attachment style (males, β = .19; females β = .36) and utilization time (males, β = .32; females β = .32) in both genders. To compare gender differences, we examined the structural equation modeling. The results show that only the influence of an ambivalent attachment style is significantly different between males and females (z = 5.04, p