Effects of Facebook Maintenance Behaviors on Partners’ Experience of Love

Principles for reporting analyses using structural equation modeling are reviewed, with the goal of supplying readers with complete and accurate information. It is recommended that every report give a detailed justification of the model used, along with plausible alternatives and an account of identifiability. Nonnormality and missing data problems should also be addressed. A complete set of parameters and their standard errors is desirable, and it will often be convenient to supply the correlation matrix and discrepancies, as well as goodness-of-fit indices, so that readers can exercise independent critical judgment. A survey of fairly representative studies compares recent practice with the principles of reporting recommended here.

Young people's exposure to social network sites such as Facebook is increasing, along with the potential for such use to complicate romantic relationships. Yet, little is known about the overlaps between the online and offline worlds. We extended previous research by investigating the links between Facebook intrusion, jealousy in romantic relationships, and relationship outcomes in a sample of undergraduates currently in a romantic relationship. A Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire was developed based on key features of technological (behavioral) addictions. An eight-item Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire with a single-factor structure was supported; internal consistency was high. Facebook intrusion was linked to relationship dissatisfaction, via jealous cognitions and surveillance behaviors. The results highlight the possibility of high levels of Facebook intrusion spilling over into romantic relationships, resulting in problems such as jealousy and dissatisfaction. The results have implications for romantic relationships and for Facebook users in general.