MODERATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED PARENTAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL AND SECURE ATTACHMENT STYLE IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The study examined how perceived parental psychological control and secure attachment style moderated the existing relationship between social media addiction and academic performance among undergraduates. It included undergraduate volunteers from randomly selected faculties at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Participants included 64 males and 242 females, with a mean age of 20.67 years and a standard deviation of 1.78. The study used four instruments to collect data: the social media addiction scale, the perceived parental psychological control scale, and the secure domain of attachment style questionnaire. Academic performance was examined using the first semester results of introduction to social statistics (PSY211). The study used a moderated predictive design, and data analysis was performed using the PROCESS Macro model 2. The study found that perceived parental psychological control had a negative and significant moderating effect (T=-2.4234, F=5.8731, P<.05) on academic performance. Additionally, both perceived parental psychological control and secured attachment style had a negative and significant joint moderating effect (T=-2.881, F=4.3752, P<.001). It was recommended that parents and care givers should raise their children with love, care and emotional and physical support as they serve as buffers that reduce the effect of social media addiction among undergraduates.   Keywords: Social Media Addiction, Academic Performance, Psychological Control, Secure Attachment Style