Early adolescents’ attachment styles and instant messaging: The mediating role of online interpersonal needs

Instant Messaging (IM) has become one of the most ubiquitous communication technologies worldwide. However, why IM has become popular and whether it is different for people with distinct interpersonal interaction characteristics remain unclear. This study attempts to explain the relations between adolescents’ attachment styles and IM use by testing the mediating role of online interpersonal needs. Participants were 2245 adolescents from four Chinese junior high schools. Structural equation modeling results indicated that adolescents with higher attachment anxiety used IM more intensively, while those with higher attachment avoidance had lower levels of IM use intensity. Additionally, these links were mediated by online interpersonal needs that higher anxiously attached adolescents’ more IM use was due to their more online interpersonal needs, and that higher avoidant adolescents’ less IM use was accounted for by their less online interpersonal needs. These findings suggest that psychological needs offer an effective lens for understanding why IM has become popular and how it is different for people with distinct interpersonal interaction characteristics.