Concepedia

Development of a Facebook Addiction Scale

Cecilie Schou Andreassen, Torbjørn Torsheim, Geir Scott Brunborg, Ståle Pallesen

Psychological Reports · 2012 · 1.8K citations · 43 references

TL;DR

The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale was developed by selecting the highest‑correlation item from each of six addiction domains, resulting in an 18‑item instrument administered to 423 students alongside other validated self‑report measures. The BFAS demonstrated a robust factor structure (RMSEA = .046, CFI = .99), high internal consistency (α = .83) and 3‑week test‑retest reliability (r = .82), converging with other Facebook activity scales and correlating positively with Neuroticism and Extraversion, negatively with Conscientiousness, and predicting later bedtimes and rising times.

Abstract

The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), initially a pool of 18 items, three reflecting each of the six core elements of addiction (salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse), was constructed and administered to 423 students together with several other standardized self-report scales (Addictive Tendencies Scale, Online Sociability Scale, Facebook Attitude Scale, NEO–FFI, BIS/BAS scales, and Sleep questions). That item within each of the six addiction elements with the highest corrected item-total correlation was retained in the final scale. The factor structure of the scale was good (RMSEA = .046, CFI = .99) and coefficient alpha was .83. The 3-week test-retest reliability coefficient was .82. The scores converged with scores for other scales of Facebook activity. Also, they were positively related to Neuroticism and Extraversion, and negatively related to Conscientiousness. High scores on the new scale were associated with delayed bedtimes and rising times.