Childhood emotional neglect and problematic social media use in young adults: a moderated moderation model of loneliness and positive solitude

Childhood emotional neglect has been associated with maladaptive online behaviours, including problematic social media use (PSMU). However, less is known about the conditions under which this early relational vulnerability is more strongly related to PSMU in young adulthood. The present study examined whether loneliness moderated the association between childhood emotional neglect and PSMU in young adults, and whether this e)ect was conditioned by positive solitude. A total of 784 young adults (M = 23.87; SD = 3.33; 69.6% women) completed self-report measures. We performed a moderated moderation model examining the interactions among childhood emotional neglect, loneliness, and positive solitude in predicting PSMU, controlling for gender. Results showed that childhood emotional neglect and loneliness were positively associated with PSMU. Additionally, a three-way interaction emerged, indicating that the moderating role of loneliness in the association between childhood emotional neglect and PSMU was significant only at very low levels of positive solitude. Our findings suggest that PSMU may serve as a dysfunctional compensatory strategy among individuals exposed to childhood emotional neglect, particularly in the presence of negative solitary experiences and diminished capacity to benefit from solitude. Accordingly, solitary experience may be better understood from a multidimensional perspective when investigating vulnerability pathways to PSMU.