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The Relationship Between Anxious Attachment and Social Networking Site Addiction in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions, Self-Esteem, and the Desire to Be Liked

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Abstract

Adolescents are at risk of social networking sites (SNS) addiction. One of the variables predicting SNS in adolescents is thought to be attachment styles. Anxious attachment is known to be related to SNS addiction. However, there are limited studies on the mediating variables of this relationship. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the variables affecting the relationship between anxious attachment style and SNS addiction. Study data were obtained online from 414 adolescents. Independent Samples t-Test, correlation analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the study data. It was found that low self-esteem and interpersonal cognitive distortion affect the desire to be liked, and this predicts SNS addiction. The findings from this study are essential for understanding the complex relationship between attachment and SNS. These study findings re-emphasize the importance of a secure and stable relationship with the primary caregiver from the perspective of SNS addiction.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Nursing Yalova, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yalova University, Yalova, Turkey

    Zehra Su Topbaş

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

    Mahmut Evli & Nuray Şimşek

  3. Adıyaman University, Faculty of Medicine, Basic Medical Sciences, Adıyaman, Turkey

    Funda İpekten

  4. Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling Services, Kocasinan Guidance and Research Center, Expert Psychological Counselor, Kayseri, Turkey

    Mahmut Işıkgöz & Halil İbrahim Öztürk

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  1. Zehra Su Topbaş
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  2. Mahmut Evli
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  3. Nuray Şimşek
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Contributions

Zehra SU TOPBAŞ: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Original Draft, Visualization Mahmut EVLİ: Data Curation, Writing—Review & Editing, Project administration Nuray ŞİMŞEK: Writing—Review & Editing, Supervision, Funda İPEKTEN: Data Curation, Formal analysis Mahmut IŞIKGÖZ: Investigation, Resources, Halil İbrahim ÖZTÜRK: Investigation, Resources.

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Correspondence to Zehra Su Topbaş.

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Ethical Standards

Erciyes University Social and Human Sciences Ethics Committee's approval dated 25.01.2022 and numbered 32 was obtained for the conduct of the study. Individuals were informed online during the collection of research data and their consent was obtained. For studies involving human participants, all procedures were carried out in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethics Committees of the relevant institutions and the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Su Topbaş, Z., Evli, M., Şimşek, N. et al. The Relationship Between Anxious Attachment and Social Networking Site Addiction in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions, Self-Esteem, and the Desire to Be Liked. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01227-3

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