ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEMATIC FACEBOOK USE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN UPM CORRELATED WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS

Abstract

Introduction: Facebook has emerged as one of the top social networking sites (SNSs) among university students but at the cost of leading to negative implications on psychosocial wellbeing. Psychological factors such as depression, anxiety and stress have been implicated in the development of addictions; however studies that evaluate this are scarce among the Malaysian population. Our objective was to identify problematic Facebook use among undergraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and to correlate the psychological factors that influence problematic Facebook use.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 1060 students from various faculties in UPM. Validated Facebook Addiction Test (FAT) and DASS-21 questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis was done for demographic data. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were used in the analytical part.

Results: Problematic Facebook use was detected among 16.6% of the undergraduate students. Problematic Facebook use was significantly related to the level of depression, anxiety and stress (p<0.05). Multiple regression analysis indicated that younger age, male gender and depression were significant predictors of problematic Facebook use (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Problematic Facebook use is significantly related to the level of depression, anxiety and stress.  Young male university students are more prone to problematic Facebook use than females. Depression plays an important role in the development of problematic Facebook usage, thus requires careful monitoring of young students for early detection and prevention.

Keywords: Internet Addiction, Malaysia, social networking, student psychology, university