Motivation And Usage Of Social Networking Site And College Adjustment Of First-year Students:the Mediating Effects Of Social Capital

The Social Networking Site has been very popular with college students since it appeared. With the development of Information technology, the function of Social Networking Sites has become more and more diverse, which can meet our various needs. The motivations of using Social Networking Sites and the effects of the usage were hot research topics. This study developed the college students’motivations for SNSs usage scale based on literature review, and explored the influences of the motivations and usage of Social Networking Site on social capital and college adjustment of first-year student.Study 1 proposed a theoretical model about motivations for using SNSs based on literature review and individual in-depth interviews, then compiled items in accordance with the foregoing theoretical constitution, then formed the initial questionnaire according to the item evaluations. The initial questionnaire was administered to 331 participants, then we analyzed the results with item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, getting five common factors that explained 59.31% cumulative variance. The analysis give us some directions about how to modify and choose items, and develop the formal questionnaire. The formal questionnaire was administered to another 457 participants, and the reliability analysis showed the internal consistency coefficients and split-half reliability coefficients of the scales were high, and all were above 0.7; Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model, and the Criterion-related validity were good. Results showed that the college students’motivations for SNSs usage scale include 5 factors:expression, interaction, information, recognition, entertainment, and has good reliability and validity.Study 2 investigated 412 participants’motivations and usage of Social Networking Site, social capital, and college adjustment of first-year students, constructed the structural equation model which integrated all variables. The model fitting indexes were as follows:χ2/df=2.764、NFI=0.893、CFI= 0.928、TLI= 0.904、IFI= 0.929、RMSEA= 0.066, indicating the model fitted well. Path coefficients showed that the motivations and usage of Social Networking Sites had positive or negative effects on the college adjustment of first-year students. On the one hand, they directly positively influenced the college adjustment (β= 0.378), on the other hand, they had indirectly negative effects on college adjustment by the mediating effects of online\offline social capital (β=-0.132).Conclusion:(1) The college students’motivations for SNSs usage scale had good reliability and validity and contained 5 subscales:expression, interaction, information, recognition, entertainment, which were interrelated and had their own independent significance. (2) The effects of the motivations and usage of Social Networking Sites on college adjustment were mixed, and its direction was related to the types of motivation and the consideration of mediators.