Social media addiction, resilience, and life satisfaction among Bangladeshi university students: a cross-sectional study with validation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale

Social media addiction (SMA) is a concerning issue in higher education. Previous studies have suggested that resilience and life satisfaction (LS) serve as protective factors against SMA. This study examined the association of SMA with resilience LS, socio-demographic, behavioral, and health-related variables, and assessed the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Brief Resilience Coping Scale (BRCS), as no prior study has evaluated its psychometric properties in Bangladeshi culture. This study used multistage cluster random sampling to select 374 students, of whom 48.4% were male and 51.6% female, with a mean age of 21.86. SMA, LS, and resilience were measured using self-report questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, binary logistic regression, and multiple linear regression were used for the study purpose. The SMA was considered when the score was ≥ 24 on the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), independent-samples t-tests, and correlational analyses were used to assess the psychometric properties of the resilience scale. This study revealed that 17.1% of students had SMA. The fully adjusted model revealed that the significant associated factors of SMA were (i) < 6 hours’ sleep duration (AOR = 3.81; 95% CI:1.13–12.87), (ii) poor sleep quality (AOR = 4.98; 95% CI:1.53–16.16), (iii) having hypertension (AOR = 5.15; 95% CI:1.60-16.62), and (iv) having diabetes (AOR = 5.13; 95% CI: 1.05–25.02). The crude odds found that LS was significantly associated with SMA (AOR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.18–3.66), but this association was not significant (AOR = 1.97; 95% CI = 0.87–4.46) after adjusting for other study variables. The multiple logistic regression model indicated that resilience was negatively associated with SMA (β= -0.176, p < 0.01), indicating concurrent validity. The BRCS had acceptable fit indices ( χ 2 = 3.860, p > 0.05, χ 2 /df = 1.93, RMSEA = 0.069 with 90% CI: 0.061–0.076), CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.98, and SRMR = 0.020. SMA was associated with self-reported poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration. Hypertension and diabetes were also associated with SMA, but an exceptionally small subgroup may limit the generalizability of this association among university students in Bangladesh. The BRCS was a psychometrically sound tool for assessing resilience among students in Bangladesh.