Psychometric study of Facebook addiction among university students in Islamabad, Pakistan

Qaisar Khalid Mahmood| Muhammad Babar Akram| Aisha Jalil| Rubeena Zakar

Abstract
Objective: To investigate the level of compulsive Facebook usage among young adults and it’s potential as an addictive disorder.
Methodology: This cross sectional survey was conducted in four universities of Islamabad; International Islamic University, Quaid-I-Azam University, National University of Modern Languages, and Bahria University. A total of 713 students were selected on non-random basis. Students who were available and were having Facebook account for more than one year were included in the study. The intensity of Facebook usage was measured through six-item attitudinal scale developed by Ellison and colleagues (2007). Facebook addiction was assessed through Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). This scale comprised of six core features of addiction; salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse (Griffiths 2005).
Results: On the intensity of Facebook usage, significant mean differences were found in salience [t (2,711) =10.00, p<0.001, MD=2.10], tolerance [t (2,711) =12.49, p<0.001, MD=2.59], mode modification [t (2,711) =7.76, p<0.001, MD=1.73], relapse [t (2,711) =10.48, p<0.001, MD=2.25], withdrawal [t (2,711) =8.01, p<0.001, MD=1.75], conflict [t (2,711) =10.32, p<0.001, MD=2.51] .
Conclusion: This study concluded that the study participants who had high scores on intense usage of Facebook were more addicted to Facebook as compared to those who had low scores on Facebook usage.

Key words: : Facebook addiction, intensive usage, early adulthood.

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