Title Development and validation of the Scale of Motives for Using Social Networking Sites (SMU-SNS) for adolescents and youths
Authors Pertegal M.-Á. , Oliva A. , RODRÍGUEZ MEIRINHOS, ANA
External publication No
Means PLoS ONE
Scope Article
Nature Científica
JCR Quartile 2
SJR Quartile 1
JCR Impact 2.74
SJR Impact 1.023
Web https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85076111034&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0225781&partnerID=40&md5=e9fa52019f3e1833383374e3384284b0
Publication date 03/12/2019
ISI 000533969300028
Scopus Id 2-s2.0-85076111034
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0225781
Abstract Over the past decade, the Uses and Gratifications theory has driven research on the motives behind social media use. The three most commonly explored motives have been: maintaining relationships, seeking information, and entertainment. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Scale of Motives for Using Social Networking Sites (SMU-SNS), a measure to assess a wider range of motives for using Social Networking Sites than have previously been researched. A multi-method design with different samples of high-school and university students was used. First, to develop the pool of items, a literature review and a focus group study (n = 48, age range = 16–21) was conducted. Second, to reduce and refine the pool of items a pilot study (n = 168, age range = 14–24) was performed. Third, a validation study (n = 1102, age range = 13–25) was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the SMU-SNS. Cross-validation using EFA and CFA resulted in a final version comprising 27 items distributed in nine factors (Dating, New Friendships, Academic Purposes, Social Connectedness, Following and Monitoring Others, Entertainment, seeking Social Recognition, Self-expression, and seeking Information). Internal consistency was excellent and evidence of measurement invariance across gender and age was largely achieved. The SMU-SNS scores significantly correlated with other relevant variables, including age, gender, certain personality traits, social support, loneliness, and life satisfaction. Overall, findings supported the SMU-SNS as a valid and reliable measure to assess youth’s motives for using Social Networking Sites. Psychometric and general implications are discussed. © 2019 Pertegal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Keywords adolescent; article; controlled study; female; friendship; gender; high school; human; human experiment; internal consistency; juvenile; life satisfaction; loneliness; major clinical study; male; personality; pilot study; social network; social support; university student; validation process; validation study; validity
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