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Links Among Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Characteristics and Facebook Usage
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by Sarah Stevens, Karissa Humphrey, TaLisha Wheatley, and Renee V. Galliher - Utah State University
Multiple researchers have studied various aspects of the
social networking website Facebook. Due to the relative lack of
literature on Facebook and anxiety, the goal of this study was to
determine if individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality
characteristics use Facebook more than average and if these
individuals use Facebook compulsively as a way to manage anxiety.
Participants were 222 Facebook users invited to complete a survey
about Facebook use and personality characteristics. The survey
included the Leyton Obsessional Inventory short form (Cooper,
1970) and a Facebook questionnaire posted online through a survey
tool, Psychdata. We found no relation among frequency or time
spent on Facebook and obsessive-compulsive personality
characteristics, but found significant relations among reasons for
accessing Facebook and obsessive-compulsive personality
characteristics. These findings suggest that individuals with obsessivecompulsive
personality characteristics may engage in Facebook as a
way to ease stress.
Fall 2011 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 16, No. 3, p. 106), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2011, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.