Does Childhood Trauma Associate with Social Media Addiction? A Cross-sectional Study from Iran

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with many maladaptive behaviors and adverse outcomes. This cross-sectional study examined the association of ACEs with social media addiction in adulthood. A sample of 1233 Iranian people aged 19 to 65 years old (55.5% females) was surveyed to explore SMA and ACEs. SMA and ACEs were estimated using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and International Adverse Childhood Experiences Abuse Short Form (ACE-ASF), respectively. The prevalence of SMA was 22.2% (95% CI: 19.2; 24.6). Physical-emotional abuse and sexual abuse were reported by 59.3% (95% CI: 56.5; 62.1) and 32.5% (95% CI: 29.9; 35.2) of the participants, respectively. The results revealed that a history of ACEs was positively associated with SMA (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.91). Overall, 17.5% (n = 48) and 9.7% (n = 27) of SMA attributed to the physical-emotional and sexual abuse, respectively. Additionally, SMA was more prevalent among the male and also younger participants. The findings of this study suggested that ACEs may increase the risk of SMA in adulthood.