Social Networking Addiction, Violent Attitudes, and Suicidal Ideation in Emerging Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the link between social networking addiction, violent attitudes, and suicidal ideation in emerging adults. Convenient sampling method used to collect data for this quantitative study from 1051 participants, age ranging between 18 to 21 years (M=18.95, SD= 1.12). Demographic Questionnaire, Social networking addiction, Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale and Revised Attitudes towards Violence Scales were used. The correlation analysis demonstrated that social networking addiction and violent attitudes positively and significantly correlated with suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that those who have social networking addiction have greater risk of suicidal ideation. Mediation analysis showed that violent attitudes are significantly correlated with suicidal ideation and social networking addiction also positively and significantly correlated with violent attitudes. All paths are shown to be significant. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, education, research, policy-making and public health policy. Educational programs should be designed to promote healthy and responsible use of social networking sites and raise awareness about the relationship of social networking addiction violent attitudes and suicidal ideation. Future research should explore the underlying mechanisms and consider potential mediating or moderating factors. Despite the limitation, this study will contribute in understating the determinant factors that affects the suicidal ideation through social networking addiction and violent attitudes and emphases the importance of prevention and intervention strategies in this digital age