Evaluation of the Factoral Structure of the Problematic Social Media Use Scale Among Georgian Youth

The development of digital technologies has brought a lot of benefits to humanity, but many studies conducted over the last three decades have revealed that their excessive, uncontrolled use leads to a number of negative consequences - distress, psychopathological symptoms, health problems, social, professional or academic disorders, etc. Sh. Moreover, some individuals may develop behavioral addiction-like symptoms. A meta-analysis conducted in 2022, which included more than two million people living in 64 countries, showed that 17.4% of the world's population is addicted to social networks. Consequently, Georgian psychologists need a reliable measuring tool to assess this problem. The purpose of the study was to check the factor structure and psychometric indicators of the already adapted Georgian version of Caplan's Problematic Use Scale (GPIUS2). 1013 participants were included in the study, including 77% women, average age 22.6±6.3. The factorial structure was tested by both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation (SEM) modeling and mediation analysis were used to test the theoretical model. The conducted study confirmed the high reliability and validity of the Georgian version of the scale. The Georgian version of the Problematic Social Media use scale can be considered a reliable and valid psychodiagnostic tool. It can be used among young people for both research and psychological counseling purposes - to assess the risk of problematic consumption. The main results of the study are important for both client work and prevention purposes. It can be said that the key risk factor for the development of problematic consumption among Georgian youth is consumption for mood regulation, that is, it is the basis of the preference for online communication and insufficient self-regulation of the use of social networks. Therefore, use for mood regulation can be considered as a potential target for psychological intervention – both for psychological support and prevention.