JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social media has fundamentally changed how people communicate. With an estimated 96% of teenagers now using the internet daily, it is important to consider how social media may impact mental health. To accomplish this, researchers require validated tools that measure a range of social media use behaviors.

Objective:

To develop and validate the Comprehensive Assessment of Social Media Use (CASM), a self-report survey measure to assess multiple facets of young adult SM use.

Methods:

Two studies are outlined in this paper: 1) item generation and exploratory factor analysis and 2) confirmatory factor analysis and validity testing. The CASM and associations with indicators of mental health were also examined.

Results:

Factor analysis resulted in a seven factor, 29-item scale that accounted for 61% of the variance in responses. The chi-squared test of model fit was significant, (356) = 941, p<.001; RMSEA = .064; CFI = .855; TLI = .848; SRMR = .060. Correlations between the CASM and indicators of mental health revealed associations with anxiety and depression.

Conclusions:

The CASM demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties and validity while assessing seven distinct aspects of young adult SM use: self-branding, compulsive use, disruptive use, impulsive sharing, social engagement, induce negative emotions, and induce positive emotions. The CASM is one of the first validated measures to multiple social media behaviors simultaneously, enabling researchers to more effectively examine associations between social media use and mental health outcomes.