An Assessment of the Validity and Reliability of the Social-Media Addiction Screening Scale (S-MASS)

Abstract

Objective: The excessive use of social media can lead to addiction among many vulnerable individuals. Hence, the utilization of a valid and reliable screening test to assess social media addiction is warranted. Materials and Methods: The Social-Media Addiction Screening Scale (S-MASS) is a newly developed, self-report screening scale containing 16 items that assess the three main components of behavioral addiction: giving priority, impaired control, and negative consequences. The S-MASS reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed to assess the S-MASS factorial validity. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was also carried out to identify the classes of problematic social media users. Results: In all, 5,068 participants aged ≥ 13 years were recruited from five high schools and an online survey. Cronbach's alpha for the S-MASS was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.89–0.90), indicating excellent test reliability. The EFA and CFA revealed a good factorial validity for the S-MASS. Based on the LPA, the participants were classed as “low-risk” (n = 1,227; 24.2%), “moderate-risk” (n = 2,757; 54.4%), and “high-risk” (n = 1,084; 21.4%) problematic social media users. The key differences between these classes were gender, age, necessity to use social media for work, self-perception of addiction, and time spent on social media. Conclusion: The S-MASS is a valid and reliable screening scale for social media addiction. The criterion validity of the S-MASS should be evaluated once formal diagnostic criteria for social media addiction become available.