Social Networks Addiction (SNA-6) – Short: Validity of Measurement in Mexican Youths

Abstract

The excessive use of social networks needs to be addressed, and this phenomenon needs to be measured for the purpose of evaluation, prevention, and intervention among adolescents and young people. The objective of the study was to adapt and psychometrically validate the Brief Scale of Addiction to Social Networks (SNA-6) among Mexican adolescents and young adults. The participating sample consisted of 2,789 students from 6 public educational campuses in Cuernavaca (Morelos, Mexico). Data collection was carried out through a web platform to strictly maintain anonymity, voluntary participation, and confidentiality. Data analysis first focused on the detection of possible response biases (random intercept model and careless/insufficient effort), the quality of the response structure partial credit model (PCM), dimensionality (CFA and invariance), and the relationship with external variables. It was found that when the range of efficient response options was limited to less than five, reliability was high (0.91), and unidimensionality was maintained. Response biases slightly affected the dimensional structure of the instrument. Measurement invariance reached scalar invariance in the sex, age, and campus groups. The association with sensation seeking and depression, controlling for sex and age covariates, was statistically significant, small, and theoretically consistent. Implications of the results are discussed.