The trait-state fear of missing out scale: Validity, reliability, and measurement invariance in a Chinese sample of university students

Background: Research into the 'fear of missing out ' (FoMO) has greatly increased in recent years. In Asia, many university students frequently use social networking sites (SNSs) via their smartphone. There has also been some studies examining problematic social media use, but there are few Chinese studies concerning FoMO. This may be partly due to the lack of standardized measurement tools for assessing FoMO. Therefore, the present study psychometrically validated the Chinese version of the Trait-State Fear of Missing Out Scale (T-SFoMOS-C) and tested its reliability, validity and measurement invariance among Chinese university students. Methods: A total of 2,017 university students (aged 17 to 25 years) completed an online survey including the Chinese Trait-State Fear of missing Out Scale (T-SFoMOS-C), the Social Network Site Intensity Scale (SNSIS), and the International Positive and Negative Affect Scale short-form (I-PANAS-SF). Results: Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis was carried out on the T-SFoMOS-C. Confirmatory factor analysis (chi(2) = 177.49, df = 50, p < .01; TLI = 0.959; CFI = 0.960; SRMR = 0.038; RMSEA = 0.050) and measurement invariance showed that the T-SFoMOS-C for university students had good construct validity among different groups. The internal consistency of the T-SFoMOS-C (0.81), the test-retest reliability (0.81), and the composite reliability of state-FoMO and trait-FoMO (0.76 and 0.80) were also good. The T-SFoMOS-C was significantly correlated with the SNSIS (0.40) and the Negative Affect (NA) (0.26), respectively. Conclusions: The T-SFoMOS-C is relatively reliable and valid among different groups, supporting its utility among Chinese university students.