Introduction: This research is a descriptive and correlational research which has been done with the purpose of surveying the relationship between mental disorders and the amount of time that people spend on Facebook. 147 members out of Facebook active users were chosen randomly. Then epidemiology questionnaire of mental disorders (SCL-90-R) was used to collect data. Data analysis was done using Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple regression. The results showed that there was a significant relation between characters such as aggression, obsession, psychosis, paranoia, depression and using Facebook (p < 0.05), but this relation was not significant in anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, physical complaints and phobia. Furthermore, this relationship was significant regarding to subjects’ gender and marital status (p < 0.05), but there was no relationship regarding to their age.
Facebook is a virtual social network in which its users are able to share personal information, photos, being members of various groups, and joining people who are in their friends’ list [
Mental disorder is a syndrome or a behavioral or psychological pattern, clinically significant, that individual suffers it, along with disease, disability, the increase of the risk of pain, death, discomfort, disability and losing freedom. Meanwhile, this pattern or syndrome must not be predictable or a cultural response to a special event; and, with each primary cause, it should be considered as a behavioral, psychological or biological malfunction [
A lot of researches have been done about spending time on Facebook, mental disorders and the harms and benefits of using this social network. Doherty and Schlenker found out that people with high level of public self-consciousness had more concern about social standards matching. Therefore, these people may put limited information on their Facebook page to avoid destroying their prestige. People with low-level of public self-consciousness, likely, put much information on their page. [
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To this research, there is a direct correlation between page checking times on Facebook during the day and the amount of their narcissism.
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In these studies, there is a lack of studies reasoning unsuitable spending time on Facebook. It seems mental disorders could have an effective role in the time spending in these social networks. Indeed, this research aims surveying the effect of mental disorders on the amount of time spending on Facebook by individuals.
The method of this research is correlation, and it surveys the relation between using Facebook and mental disorders. Statistical population of this research was 147 people (80 men and 67 women) who used to use Facebook actively, from April 2013 for three months. Sampling method was multistage random cluster. So that 3 days of a week were selected randomly and then the hours of selecting sample group were selected between 7 to 24 (midnight) randomly and then the sample was selected from online Facebook users, by simple random method.
Interview and questionnaire were used to collect sample group information. Interview was done on the times and days selected randomly, via the internet chat and by phone, and then SCL-90-R questionnaire were given to them. Whole 147 people answered the questionnaire; 15 people of them were put aside from analysing because of defective questionnaire. SCL-90-R questionnaire is one of the most useful diagnostic psychometric tools that was introduced by Dragotice and his colleagues in 1973; and based on clinical experiences and revised psychometric analyses, its final form was developed in 1976 [
To describe data, descriptive statistics indicators (mean, standard deviation, histogram) were used, and to analyse data, inferential statistics indicators (Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple variable regression) were used. Analyses were done by SPSS software (version 19).
In Tables 1-3, descriptive information related to nine dimensions of SCL-90-R questionnaire scores, are provided, differentiated by gender, marital status and age.
Mean | Standard deviation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Men | Women | ||
1 | Aggression | 1.42 | 1.40 | 0.63 | 0.60 |
2 | Anxiety | 1.21 | 1.21 | 0.53 | 0.73 |
3 | Obsession | 1.35 | 1.45 | 0.42 | 0.55 |
4 | Interpersonal sensitivity | 1.22 | 1.36 | 0.55 | 0.52 |
5 | Somatic complaint | 1.00 | 1.33 | 0.51 | 0.64 |
6 | Psychosis | 0.87 | 0,97 | 0.53 | 0.71 |
7 | Paranoid thoughts | 1.36 | 1.45 | 0.66 | 0.62 |
8 | Depression | 1.28 | 1.41 | 0.46 | 0.65 |
9 | Phobia | 0.85 | 0.99 | 0.63 | 0.61 |
Mean | Standard deviation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single | Married | Single | Married | ||
1 | Aggression | 1.39 | 1.44 | 0.60 | 0.63 |
2 | Anxiety | 1.14 | 1.32 | 0.68 | 0.55 |
3 | Obsession | 1.46 | 1.32 | 0.48 | 0.50 |
4 | Interpersonal sensitivity | 1.31 | 1.27 | 0.48 | 0.50 |
5 | Somatic complaint | 1.11 | 1.25 | 0.59 | 0.61 |
6 | Psychosis | 0.86 | 1.01 | 0.59 | 0.67 |
7 | Paranoid thoughts | 1.39 | 1.43 | 0.64 | 0.63 |
8 | Depression | 1.28 | 1.45 | 0.53 | 0.61 |
9 | Phobia | 0.81 | 1.09 | 0.55 | 0.69 |
Mean | Standard deviation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<20 | 21 - 30 | >30 | <20 | 21 - 30 | >30 | ||
1 | Aggression | 1.42 | 1.42 | 1.37 | 0.48 | 0.68 | 0.53 |
2 | Anxiety | 1.34 | 1.15 | 1.25 | 0.58 | 0.67 | 0.56 |
3 | Obsession | 1.26 | 1.31 | 1.52 | 0.50 | 0.43 | 0.60 |
4 | Interpersonal sensitivity | 1.39 | 1.35 | 1.31 | 0.46 | 0.56 | 0.62 |
5 | Somatic complaint | 1.23 | 1.09 | 1.12 | 0.39 | 0.55 | 0.66 |
6 | Psychosis | 0.94 | 0.78 | 1.06 | 0.60 | 0.52 | 0.73 |
7 | Paranoid thoughts | 1.13 | 1.56 | 1.21 | 0.55 | 0.62 | 0.65 |
8 | Depression | 1.23 | 1.35 | 1.51 | 0.41 | 0.59 | 0.63 |
9 | Phobia | 1.34 | 0.81 | 0.79 | 0.48 | 0.64 | 0.53 |
Correlation coefficient | Significance level | ||
1 | Aggression | −0.345 | −0.000 |
2 | Anxiety | −0.073 | 0.370 |
3 | Obsession | −0.378 | 0.000 |
4 | Interpersonal sensitivity | −0.125 | 0.130 |
5 | Somatic complaint | 0.034 | 0.682 |
6 | Psychosis | 0.168 | 0.041 |
7 | Paranoid thoughts | −0.248 | 0.002 |
8 | Depression | −0.228 | 0.005 |
9 | Phobia | 0.120 | 0.147 |
Spearman correlation coefficient | Age | Marital status | Gender | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Correlation coefficient | 0.054 | 0.163 | 0.222 | |
Significance level | 0.515 | 0.049 | 0.007 |
Model | Multiple correlation coefficient | Model determining coefficient | Indicator determining coefficient | Standard error |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0.418 | 0.175 | 0.121 | 0.439 |
Regression model | Total squares | degrees of freedom | Arithmetic square | F | p |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5.588 | 9 | 0.621 | 3.224 | 0.001 |
marital status), the correlation among these three issues and spending time on Facebook was studied, as well.
Regarding the information of
Multiple correlation coefficient is 0.418 that shows the amount of correlation between spending time on Facebook and nine dimensions on mental disorders of SCL-90-R questionnaire together, indeed. The value of coefficient of determination shows that these nine dimensions, all together, are 17.5 percent of the explanation of spending time on Facebook. As it seems, the value of SE is very small that means rather accurate prediction of regression model.
As it is seen, our hypothesis, the significance of the regression model, is correct (p < 0.05).
In
The survey of correlation between mental disorders and spending time on Facebook, using the Spearman correlation coefficient, showed that the relation between aggression, obsession, psychosis, paranoia and depression indicators and spending time on Facebook was significant; but in anxiety, interpersonal sensi-
Coefficients | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Model | Non-standard coefficients | Standard coefficients | t | Level of significance | |
B | Standard Error | Beta | |||
Constant | 1.594 | 0.137 | 0.066 | 11.605 | 0.000 |
Aggression | 0.014 | 0.017 | −0.141 | 0.822 | 0.003 |
Anxiety | −0.107 | 0.063 | 0.059 | −1.706 | 0.365 |
Obsession | 0.005 | 0.007 | −0.75 | 0.733 | 0.000 |
Interpersonal sensitivity | −0.066 | 0.072 | −0.008 | −0.924 | 0.141 |
Somatic complaint | −0.001 | 0.007 | 0.247 | −0.097 | 0.511 |
Psychosis | 0.200 | 0.062 | −0.189 | 3.237 | 0.032 |
Paranoid thoughts | −0.133 | 0.062 | −0.161 | −2.147 | 0.004 |
Depression | −0.129 | 0.070 | 0.079 | 1.842 | 0.005 |
Phobia | 0.058 | 0.060 | 0.06 | 0.971 | 0.214 |
tivity, somatic complaint and phobia indicators, it was not significant. Therefore, it seems these disorders could cause greater use of the networks in which individual can experience interaction in a way different from what is in real world. These results are consistent with the results of the most researches mentioned before [
In the survey on the value of correlation between demographic characteristics and spending time on Facebook, it was found out that there was the positive correlation between gender and spending time on Facebook. These results are consistent with the results of the researches done by [
In addition, the result of regression analysis showed that some mental disorders such as aggression, obsession, psychosis, paranoia and depression could predict spending time on Facebook. These results are consistent with researches done by [
Finally, it can be concluded that certain personality traits can lower a person’s relationship with what exists in reality and take him to the virtual and fantasy world by using networks such as Facebook and chat rooms. Therefore, it is suggested to other researchers to take virtual relationship networks to the realm of psychology and discuss disorders causes using these networks more, and the effects of these networks on individuals.
Rad, N.Y. and Hassan, T. (2017) Surveying the Relationship between Psychological Disorders and Spending Time on Facebook. Social Networking, 6, 197-205. https://doi.org/10.4236/sn.2017.62012