Problematic Facebook use and anxiety concerning use of social media in mothers and their offspring: An actor-partner interdependence model

Stefano Ruggieri; Gianluca Santoro; Ugo Pace; Alessia Passanisi; Adriano Schimmenti

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100256

Problematic Facebook use and anxiety concerning use of social media in mothers and their offspring: An actor-partner interdependence model

Addict Behav Rep. 2020 Jan 29:11:100256. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100256. eCollection 2020 Jun.

Authors

Stefano Ruggieri¹, Gianluca Santoro¹, Ugo Pace¹, Alessia Passanisi¹, Adriano Schimmenti¹

Affiliation

¹ Università degli Studi di Enna "Kore", Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Enna, Italy.

Abstract

Previous research has shown significant and positive associations between social anxiety of parents and their adolescent offspring. The main aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in the social media (SM) context. We tested one hundred and fifty-two couples comprising mothers and their adolescent offspring (12-14 years old) on their levels of problematic Facebook use (PFU) and social anxiety concerning SM use. An actor-partner interdependence model highlighted the positive relationship between the PFU scores of mothers and their offspring on the levels of SM social anxiety in the offspring. We discuss the results in the context of intergenerational transfer of problematic technology use and social anxiety.

Keywords: Actor–partner interdependence model; Adolescence; Intergenerational transmission; Problematic Facebook use; Social anxiety.