Development, Validation, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Package for Managing Social Network Site Use in Adolescents: Effects on Use, Attitude, Media Literacy, and Addiction Publisher



S Baheshmat SHAHAB ; M Tehranidoost MEHDI ; NULL ; A Pourabbasi A ; NULL
Source: Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Published:2025

Abstract

Background: Health systems are addressing adolescents' excessive use of social network sites (SNS) due to growing evidence linking SNS addiction to mental health problems. Objectives: This study aimed to develop, validate, and preliminarily evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention package designed to help adolescents manage their SNS use, focusing on use, attitudes, media literacy, and addiction. Methods: The intervention package was developed under the supervision of eight specialists in psychiatry and psychology. Its validity was assessed using the Content Validity Index (CVI). Experts confirmed the validity of the SNS management package, which was implemented over eight 90-minute sessions. To assess the preliminary effectiveness of the developed package, a quasi-experimental design featuring pre-test/post-test comparisons with control groups was utilized. The target population consisted of middle school students in Tehran, and the study was conducted in 2024. Fifty adolescents with SNS addiction were purposively sampled and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 25) and control groups (n = 25), with 39 completing the study. Data were collected using the Social Media Addiction Scale, the attitude toward social networking sites questionnaire, and the Media Literacy Questionnaire. Data analysis utilized independent sample t-tests and one-way ANCOVA, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: Experts found the package valid regarding relevance, effectiveness, and appropriateness, with scores ranging from 0.750 to 1.000. The results indicated that the training package for managing SNS use effectively impacts daily SNS use in the past week (F = 7.25; P = 0.011), attitudes toward SNS (F = 8.48; P = 0.006), and media literacy (F = 56.09; P = 0.001). However, it did not reduce SNS addiction (F = 0.55; P = 0.464). Conclusions: The study found that while the educational package did not reduce SNS addiction, it successfully decreased daily SNS use, improved attitudes toward SNS, and enhanced media literacy. These preliminary findings suggest the intervention's potential utility in the primary prevention of problematic social media use. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.