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International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

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01-12-2016

Portuguese Validation of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale: an Empirical Study

Authors: Halley M. Pontes, Cecilie S. Andreassen, Mark D. Griffiths

Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction | Issue 6/2016

Abstract

Previous research on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) addiction have suggest the need to improve assessment of this behavioral addiction. The present study aimed at validating a Portuguese version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), a widely used instrument to assess addiction to Facebook. A study was conducted in a sample of 509 Portuguese adolescent using an online survey. The psychometric properties (construct validity, criterion validity, and reliability) of the Portuguese BFAS was scrutinized. The results from the psychometric analyses suggested that the new validated instrument had excellent psychometric properties. The CFA confirmed the original one-factor solution of the BFAS and criterion validity was warranted. The reliability of the BFAS was supported by satisfactory levels of internal consistency as measured by the Cronbach’s alpha (α = .83), composite reliability (CR = .82), and factor determinacy (FD = .91). Overall, the results provided empirical support for the validity and reliability of the Portuguese BFAS. Moreover, the results were highly comparable with the findings of the original development study of the BFAS and cross-cultural support for the scale was obtained.

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Title: Portuguese Validation of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale: an Empirical Study
Authors: Halley M. Pontes
Cecilie S. Andreassen
Mark D. Griffiths
Publication date: 01-12-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction / Issue 6/2016
Print ISSN: 1557-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1882
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-016-9694-y

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Portuguese Validation of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale: an Empirical Study

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