An Analysis of Social Network Addiction and Emotional Competence among Adolescents in India and Afghanistan

Description

Page: 369-377

Mohammad Basir Bakhtyari¹ and Kamayani Mathur² (Department of Psychology, Schools of Psychology, Philosophy, and Education, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat¹ and Department of Psychology, and Director of School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Education, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat²)

Social networking site addiction (SNSA) has been reported as a possible behavioral addiction among adolescents, and previous studies have found that excessive SNS use may lead to mental health problems. Therefore, a cross-cultural and exploratory study was designed to examine adolescents’ SNSA and emotional competence in Afghanistan and India. The instrument consisted of two standardized scales, namely the Social Network Addiction Scale (SNAS) and the Emotional Competence Scale (ECS), which were administered to 930 adolescents aged 11-19 years (mean = 15.8) from various schools and colleges in Ahmedabad, India and Kabul, Afghanistan. The study hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship between SNSA and emotional competence and that there would be a significant difference in SNSA and emotional competence between adolescents from Afghanistan and India. The results of this study revealed that impulsivity and negative outcomes had a significant negative effect on emotional competence in both Afghan and Indian adolescents. Furthermore, adolescents from Afghanistan reported higher levels of SNSA, and lower emotional competence, whereas adolescents from India reported lower levels of SNSA and higher levels of emotional competence. The findings suggest facilitating interventions and training programs for adolescents to familiarize them with how and when to use the SNS would likely impact mental health harm.