Social psychology

Background. Facebook* is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. The use of Facebook* can lead to several problems, such as Facebook* addiction. Previous studies have investigated the effects of reinforcing factors on problematic Facebook* use, but negative factors have been little studied.

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and Facebook* addiction, and examine the influence of positive and negative emotions, which serve as reinforcement and punishment when using Facebook*.

Design. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 294 university students in Vietnam, with a mean age of 19.93 and a standard deviation of 1.27. The Bergen Facebook* Addiction Scale, the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, and the Motives for Facebook* Use Scale were used to collect the data. SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 20 software were used for data analysis.

Results. The results indicated that the students’ motivations to maintain relationships and pass time were positively associated with Facebook* usage, while motivations for virtual community, entertainment, “coolness,” and companionship did not significantly influence Facebook* usage. This use of Facebook* was found to elicit both positive and negative emotions. Both these emotions were associated with an increase in Facebook* addiction among the students.

Conclusion. These results support the view that Facebook* addiction is positively associated with satisfaction with Facebook* use, and that both positive and negative emotions are associated with an increase in Facebook* addiction. Several limitations of the study are clarified.

Background. Migration intentions are extremely common among modern youth practically all around the globe. They do not always result in actual migration, but they should definitely be considered as an important indicator for the society, since the potential loss of the most valuable human resources entails long-term consequences for the development of a country or region. This study aims to examine the system of psychological factors that determine the desire of young people to stay in their region. It also addresses the previously discovered paradoxical association between migration intentions and subjective well-being.

Objective. To analyze the psychological determinants of the intention not to leave the home region, and its association with relationship satisfaction, personal goals, subjective well-being, and academic achievement of high school students.

Design. The cross-sectional study design was used. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among Russian high school students from urban and rural schools (N = 5,635).

Results. The study found that the most important psychological predictors of the intention to stay, to study, and work in their home city/region are community contribution goals and psychological factors that characterize the immediate social environment, which include satisfaction with school and teachers, and family support. Controlling for these variables, migration intentions do not correlate with subjective well-being.

Conclusion. These findings suggest that considering the quality of interpersonal relationships allows deepening the understanding of migration intentions sources of high school students. The study also contributes to understanding the complex relationship among migration intentions, subjective well-being, and academic achievement.