Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations Between Problematic Social Media Use and Emotional Symptoms in Adolescents: Results From a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model

Introduction: Problematic social media use (PSMU) and emotional symptoms are consistently associated during adolescence; however, the directionality of this relationship remains debated. Methods: The present study examined the bidirectional longitudinal associations between PSMU and emotional symptoms in a large sample of Italian adolescents using a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM), which disentangles stable between-person differences from within-person changes over time. A total of 1562 adolescents (baseline Mage = 16.36 years, 56.7% female) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study across 1 year and completed self-report measures of emotional symptoms and PSMU at each wave. Results: At the between-person level, adolescents who consistently reported higher levels of PSMU also reported persistently higher levels of emotional symptoms, indicating a stable dispositional association between the two constructs. At the within-person level, higher-than-usual levels of PSMU were concurrently associated with higher-than-usual levels of emotional symptoms. Most notably, significant bidirectional spill-over effects emerged: within-person increases in PSMU predicted subsequent increases in emotional symptoms, and increases in emotional symptoms predicted subsequent increases in PSMU. Emotional symptoms also demonstrated significant carry-over effects across waves. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of disaggregating within-person and between-person effects and support the conceptualization of the association between PSMU and emotional symptoms as a dynamic feedback loop during adolescence.