LE3 .A278 2022

2022

Symons, Doug

Acadia University

Master of Science

Masters

Psychology

Psychology

There is current interest in the association between adult attachment style and addiction, as well as a burgeoning interest in excessive technology use, constituting a behavioural addiction. Accordingly, the present study investigated the relation between behavioural measures of technology use and related self-report measures of addiction, whether attachment style was predictive of addiction to social media, texting, and video games, and whether emotional maladjustment indicators mediated the relation between attachment and addiction. Participants, n = 94, were undergraduate students who reported on their social media, texting, and cell phone game use over the past week using the Screen Time feature within their iPhones. They also provided an estimate of gaming across all platforms. Online questionnaires were used to measure adult attachment style, addiction to technology in three domains, and emotional maladjustment. The results demonstrated that the behavioural records of social media and cell phone gaming were significantly correlated with their respective addiction measures, whereas texting was not. The gaming estimate also significantly correlated to gaming addiction. It was also found that attachment anxiety and avoidance significantly predicted addiction to social media but no other form of addiction. Lastly, emotional maladjustment did not mediate the relation between attachment style and any technology-based addiction. The current study therefore informs interests in technology use and addictions, as well as adult attachment style and emotional maladjustment as related constructs.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3887