Predicting The Level of Addiction to Virtual Social Networks Based On Cognitive Flexibility and Mental Health of Secondary School Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract :

The research investigated the role of cognitive flexibility and mental health in using virtual social networks among secondary school students in Birjand during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of this research included all female students of the second year of Birjand secondary school in the academic year 2021 to 2022, whose number was 5766. In this study, 360 people were selected as a sample based on the Karjesi and Morgan table and were tested through accessible sampling. The data collection tools were questionnaires on addiction to social networks based on mobile phones, (GHQ-28) by Goldberg, cognitive flexibility by Dennis VanderWaal (CFI). The findings showed that the components of general health and cognitive flexibility significantly predicted addiction to social networks during the epidemic with 44% explanatory power (F (7 = 12.158); p< 0.001). Meanwhile, the beta coefficient of the anxiety subscale was equal to 24% and this means that this variable has the strongest single contribution in explaining the criterion variable (addiction to social networks). According to the research results, it can be said that general health and cognitive flexibility are important predictors of social media addiction. This indicates that a combination of these factors can account for a significant portion of the variance in social media use. Incorporating general health and cognitive flexibility provides a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to social media addiction.

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