EVALUATION OF MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY–RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

The main goal of this dissertation was to evaluate a wide range of attitudes and behaviors related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Saudi young adults. Therefore, two studies were conducted on a large sample of Saudi undergraduate students. Study 1 aimed to address the scarcity of psychometrically sound measures of media and technology-related attitudes and behaviors in Arabic by culturally adapting and psychometrically assessing the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale (MTUAS) and a Media Multitasking Scale (MMS-modified). Results provided evidence in support of content and construct validity, internal consistency, and gender-related measurement invariance of the Arabic MTUAS and MMS-modified. Study 2 sought to address the indefinite findings regarding the direct relationship between technological anxiety and academic performance by empirically examining the mechanisms underlying this relationship using a moderated serial mediation model. Results indicated that technological anxiety predicted excessive media and technology consumption and media multitasking. They also revealed that excessive consumption predicted students’ multitasking behaviors, regardless of their multitasking preferences. Mediation results showed that students who experience elevated symptoms of technological anxiety had lower academic performance due to their media and technology overuse. Additionally, the direct negative effect of media and technology consumption on academic performance was moderated by self-regulatory self-efficacy. This effect was unexpectedly stronger for students who held moderate to strong self-regulatory beliefs. Explanations for the unforeseen findings were discussed. Furthermore, theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future directions were presented for each study.