Skip to main content
Top
Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 1/2020

01-02-2020 | Original Article

Evaluation of the Selfitis Behavior Scale Across Two Persian-Speaking Countries, Iran and Afghanistan: Advanced Psychometric Testing in a Large-Scale Sample

Authors: Chung-Ying Lin, Cheng-Kuan Lin, Vida Imani, Mark D. Griffiths, Amir H. Pakpour

Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction | Issue 1/2020

Login to get access

Abstract

Selfitis—which started off as a hoax but has now been investigated empirically—has been defined as the obsessive–compulsive desire to take photos of oneself and post them on social media. Furthermore, a scale to assess selfitis, the Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS), has been developed. This study applied advanced psychometric testing methods, including confirmatory factor analysis (utilizing classical test theory) and the Rasch model (utilizing modern test theory), to examine the psychometric properties among Persian speakers (in Iran and Afghanistan). The participants (3163 Iranians and 1100 Afghanistani) completed an online survey posted on Instagram pages. The SBS showed promising properties, including satisfactory reliability (e.g., internal consistency and test–retest reliability), excellent construct validity (e.g., good fit in the CFA and Rasch models), and acceptable measurement invariance across Iranian and Afghan samples. Consequently, the SBS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing selfitis among Persian-speaking samples.
Literature
go back to reference American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA, USA. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA, USA.
go back to reference Andreassen, C. S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E., & Pallesen, S. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorder: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30, 252–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000160.CrossRef Andreassen, C. S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E., & Pallesen, S. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorder: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30, 252–262. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1037/​adb0000160.CrossRef
go back to reference Chen, I.-H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Leung, H., Lin, C.-Y., Pakpour, A. H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2019). Time invariance of three ultra-brief internet-related instruments: Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale—Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part B). Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.018.CrossRefPubMed Chen, I.-H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Leung, H., Lin, C.-Y., Pakpour, A. H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2019). Time invariance of three ultra-brief internet-related instruments: Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale—Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part B). Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​addbeh.​2019.​04.​018.CrossRefPubMed
go back to reference Griffiths, M. D., & Balakrishnan, J. (2018). The psychosocial impact of excessive selfie-taking in youth: A brief overview. Education and Health, 36(1), 3–5. Griffiths, M. D., & Balakrishnan, J. (2018). The psychosocial impact of excessive selfie-taking in youth: A brief overview. Education and Health, 36(1), 3–5.
go back to reference Kaur, S., & Vig, D. (2016). Selfie and mental health issues: An overview. Indian Journal Health Wellbeing, 7(12), 1149–1152. Kaur, S., & Vig, D. (2016). Selfie and mental health issues: An overview. Indian Journal Health Wellbeing, 7(12), 1149–1152.
go back to reference Leung, H., Pakpour, A. H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Griffiths, M. D., Lin, C. Y., & Chen, I.-H. (2019). Measurement invariance across young adults from Hong Kong and Taiwan among three internet-related addiction scales: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale—Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part A). Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.027.CrossRefPubMed Leung, H., Pakpour, A. H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Griffiths, M. D., Lin, C. Y., & Chen, I.-H. (2019). Measurement invariance across young adults from Hong Kong and Taiwan among three internet-related addiction scales: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale—Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part A). Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​addbeh.​2019.​04.​027.CrossRefPubMed
go back to reference Lin, C. Y., Pakpour, A. H., Broström, A., Fridlund, B., Årestedt, K., Strömberg, A., Jaarsma, T., & Mårtensson, J. (2018a). Psychometric properties of the 9-item European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale using confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis among Iranian patients. The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 33(3), 281–288. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCN.0000000000000444.CrossRefPubMed Lin, C. Y., Pakpour, A. H., Broström, A., Fridlund, B., Årestedt, K., Strömberg, A., Jaarsma, T., & Mårtensson, J. (2018a). Psychometric properties of the 9-item European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior Scale using confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis among Iranian patients. The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 33(3), 281–288. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1097/​JCN.​0000000000000444​.CrossRefPubMed
go back to reference Lin, C.-Y., Hwang, J.-S., Wang, W.-C., Lai, W.-W., Su, W.-C., Wu, T.-Y., Yao, G., & Wang, J.-D. (2019a). Psychometric evaluation of the WHOQOL-BREF, Taiwan version, across five kinds of Taiwanese cancer survivors: Rasch analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 118(1), 215–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2018.03.018.CrossRefPubMed Lin, C.-Y., Hwang, J.-S., Wang, W.-C., Lai, W.-W., Su, W.-C., Wu, T.-Y., Yao, G., & Wang, J.-D. (2019a). Psychometric evaluation of the WHOQOL-BREF, Taiwan version, across five kinds of Taiwanese cancer survivors: Rasch analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 118(1), 215–222. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​jfma.​2018.​03.​018.CrossRefPubMed
go back to reference Lin, C.-Y., Imani, V., Cheung, P., & Pakpour, A. H. (2019c). Psychometric testing on two weight stigma instruments in Iran: Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire and Weight Bias Internalized Scale. Eating and Weight Disorders. Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00699-4. Lin, C.-Y., Imani, V., Cheung, P., & Pakpour, A. H. (2019c). Psychometric testing on two weight stigma instruments in Iran: Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire and Weight Bias Internalized Scale. Eating and Weight Disorders. Epub ahead of print. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s40519-019-00699-4.
go back to reference McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M. H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 64–82.CrossRefPubMed McDonald, R. P., & Ho, M. H. R. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 64–82.CrossRefPubMed
go back to reference Shah, P. M. (2015). Selfie—a new generation addiction disorder—Literature review and updates. International Journal of Emergncy Mental Health and Human Resilience, 17, 602. Shah, P. M. (2015). Selfie—a new generation addiction disorder—Literature review and updates. International Journal of Emergncy Mental Health and Human Resilience, 17, 602.
go back to reference Yam, C.-W., Pakpour, A. H., Griffiths, M. D., Yau, W.-Y., Lo, C.-L. M., Ng, J. M. T., Lin, C. Y., & Leung, H. (2019). Psychometric testing of three Chinese online-related addictive behavior instruments among Hong Kong university students. Psychiatric Quarterly, 90(1), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-018-9610-7.CrossRef Yam, C.-W., Pakpour, A. H., Griffiths, M. D., Yau, W.-Y., Lo, C.-L. M., Ng, J. M. T., Lin, C. Y., & Leung, H. (2019). Psychometric testing of three Chinese online-related addictive behavior instruments among Hong Kong university students. Psychiatric Quarterly, 90(1), 117–128. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s11126-018-9610-7.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Evaluation of the Selfitis Behavior Scale Across Two Persian-Speaking Countries, Iran and Afghanistan: Advanced Psychometric Testing in a Large-Scale Sample
Authors
Chung-Ying Lin
Cheng-Kuan Lin
Vida Imani
Mark D. Griffiths
Amir H. Pakpour
Publication date
01-02-2020
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction / Issue 1/2020
Print ISSN: 1557-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1882
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00124-y

Other articles of this Issue 1/2020

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 1/2020 Go to the issue