Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations Between Problematic Social Media Use and Emotional Symptoms in Adolescents: Results From a Random Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel Model

ABSTRACT Introduction Problematic social media use (PSMU) and emotional symptoms are consistently associated during adolescence; however, the directionality of this relationship remains debated. Methods The present study examined the bidirectional longitudinal associations between PSMU and emotional symptoms in a large sample of Italian adolescents using a Random Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel Model (RI‐CLPM), which disentangles stable between‐person differences from within‐person changes over time. A total of 1562 adolescents (baseline M age = 16.36 years, 56.7% female) participated in a three‐wave longitudinal study across 1 year and completed self‐report measures of emotional symptoms and PSMU at each wave. Results At the between‐person level, adolescents who consistently reported higher levels of PSMU also reported persistently higher levels of emotional symptoms, indicating a stable dispositional association between the two constructs. At the within‐person level, higher‐than‐usual levels of PSMU were concurrently associated with higher‐than‐usual levels of emotional symptoms. Most notably, significant bidirectional spill‐over effects emerged: within‐person increases in PSMU predicted subsequent increases in emotional symptoms, and increases in emotional symptoms predicted subsequent increases in PSMU. Emotional symptoms also demonstrated significant carry‐over effects across waves. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of disaggregating within‐person and between‐person effects and support the conceptualization of the association between PSMU and emotional symptoms as a dynamic feedback loop during adolescence.