Problematic Social Media Use: Which symptoms are necessary conditions for reduced control and negative outcomes to occur over time?

Background and aims: By adopting the cognitive-behavioral model of Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU), this study used Necessary Condition Analysis to identify which PSMU symptoms constitute necessary conditions (NCs: factors whose absence guarantees the absence of the outcome) for the emergence of the other symptoms. We focused on NCs for deficient self-regulation and negative outcomes because empirical findings converge in identifying them as central symptoms (i.e., unambiguously indicative of PSMU). Methods: 229 adolescents (37.60% Female; Mage = 15.44 ± 0.66) completed a survey twice, with a six-month interval. PSMU was measured using the GPIUS-2 adapted for PSMU. Predictors with an effect size d ≥ 0.10 and an estimated p-value < .05 were considered. Data analysis was performed on 10.000 resamples using approximate permutation. Results: Preference for online social interactions (POSI) at T0 did not emerge as a NC for either Mood Regulation (MR) or Deficient Self-Regulation (DSR) at T1. However, POSI, as well as DSR, emerged as NC for Negative Outcomes. MR at T0 was a NC for DSR at T1, but not for Negative Outcomes. Discussion: POSI and lack of control must be present for negative outcomes to occur, and a minimum level of MR is required for subsequent reduction of control. Our results clarify that all the symptoms included in the original model are necessary for the development of negative outcomes; however, they also suggest that, compared with their placement in the original model, they should be repositioned to better reflect the logic of identifying indispensable precursors.