Silva, Nicole da (2013) Attachment, Empathy and Motives for Facebook Use. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between attachment style and intensity of Facebook use, as well as the importance of both attachment style and empathy in predicting motivations for Facebook use. Participants comprising of both university and general community members (N = 237) completed a web-based questionnaire measuring frequency and motivations for Facebook use, attachment style (The Relationship Questionnaire; Bartholomew & Horowtiz, 1991), and empathy (The Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Davis, 1980). Results showed that preoccupied and secure attachment styles were related to higher Facebook use. A factor analysis identified six motivations for use. After controlling for age, gender, and attachment style, empathy (empathic concern) significantly contributed to only one of the motivations for use. Attachment style (pre-occupied, secure and fearful) remained a significant predictor of most motivation variables. These results support the notion that the use of Facebook serves an attachment function. Further research should explore other interpersonal variables that might add to the prediction of motivations for Facebook use, as well as establish whether such use is beneficial or harmful to certain attachment types.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology, Counselling and Community (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2014) |
| Supervisors: | Nola Passmore |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Sep 2025 01:48 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2025 01:48 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Facebook, attachment, empathy, motivation, social networking |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52759 |
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