Measurement Invariance of WeChat Excessive Use Scale (WEUS) in China, Malawi, and the UK

This study assesses the measurement invariance of the 10 items WeChat Excessive Use Scale (WEUS). The WEUS was initially employed as a diagnostic framework for WeChat addiction, which is reflection of the broader theme of SNS addiction. In this study the tool was used to assess SNS addiction in three countries and cultures, United Kingdom (n=328), Malawi (n=316), and China (n=358), representing the Western, African and Eastern cultures respectively. Results show that fit indices, including the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI), and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) for all samples were above the threshold. Further, based on incremental fit indices values and the Satorra-Bentler Chi-square difference test, the findings indicated support for configural and metric invariance and partial support for the scalar invariance. Overall, the study showed magnitudes of the relationships are equivalent across Chinese, Malawian and UK users of social networking sites. The study discusses implications of these findings on future research.