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Abstract

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Media Addiction Scale–Student Form (SMAS-SF) in a large sample of Peruvian university students. A cross-sectional instrumental design was employed with 2,956 participants from Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, and Social Sciences programs. The 29-item SMAS-SF, structured across four dimensions: Virtual Tolerance, Virtual Communication, Virtual Problem, and Virtual Information, was administered in Spanish following contextual adaptation. Descriptive analyses indicated generally low-to-moderate addiction levels, with Social Sciences students reporting the highest scores. Assumption testing supported factorability, with excellent sampling adequacy and significant item discrimination. Confirmatory factor analysis tested both first-order and second-order models, yielding acceptable fit indices and supporting the original four-factor structure with an overarching addiction factor. Standardized loadings were significant across all items. Composite reliability values exceeded recommended thresholds, and internal consistency was excellent for the total scale, though Average Variance Extracted values were below .50, suggesting moderate convergent validity. Discriminant validity showed overlap between some dimensions. Measurement invariance across sex was confirmed at configural, metric, and scalar levels. Percentile norms were established to classify low, moderate, and high addiction. Overall, findings support the SMAS-SF as a reliable and structurally valid instrument for assessing social media addiction among university students in Peru.

Keywords: Social media, Behavioral addictions, Psychometrics, Surveys and questionnaires, Students

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