The temporal stability of core symptoms of social media addiction and their comorbidity with anxiety and depression in adolescents: a longitudinal network analysis

Introduction: Social media addiction (SMA) is often comorbid with anxiety and depression. This study examined the temporal stability of core SMA symptoms and the bridging symptoms with anxiety and depression. Methods: A total of 1,240 adolescents (179 males, 1,061 females; mean age = 15.46 ± 0.63 years, age range: 14 - 18) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) on two separate occasions in 2023 (T1) and 2024 (T2). The four symptom networks, including the BSMAS networks, two comorbidity networks (the BSMAS-GAD and the BSMAS-PHQ), and the integrated BSMAS-GAD-PHQ network, were estimated using Gaussian graphical models. Core symptom centrality was assessed using Expected Influence (EI), whereas bridge symptoms were identified using Bridge Expected Influence (BEI). Results: ≤ .008) highly correlated between T1 and T2; network comparison tests showed no significant changes in overall structures of all four networks, with most edges showing stable weights. 2) Within the BSMAS network, BSMAS2 (tolerance) and BSMAS6 (conflict) exhibited the highest EI at both time points. 3) In the comorbidity networks, BSMAS3 (mood modification), BSMAS5 (withdrawal), and BSMAS6 (conflict) consistently served as bridge symptoms on the SMA side at both T1 and T2. 4) Across both time points, PHQ1 (anhedonia) and PHQ7 (concentration problems) exhibited the highest BEI on the depression side, whereas GAD1 (nervousness) and GAD5 (restlessness) did so on the anxiety side. 5) These bridge symptoms were also confirmed in the integrated network. Discussion: These findings illuminate the temporal persistence and development of symptom relationships, offering a more dynamic understanding of SMA-depression-anxiety comorbidity in adolescents.