(PS1-24) Place attachment(s) and addiction to virtual places: a longitudinal analysis

Abstract Text: While prior research has primarily examined relations between quality of real-life relationships and addiction to virtual places, the role of one’s connection to physical environments remains unexplored. This study is the first to investigate whether different types of place attachment—the emotional and cognitive bond with physical spaces—predicts addiction to virtual places over time. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal panel survey (T1 = 1110, T2 = 434, T3 = 378) on a sample of Polish young adults (18-30), representative in terms of age, gender, and place of residence. We identified four distinct addiction trajectories through growth mixture modeling: low-stable, low-worsening, high-decreasing, and moderate-decreasing. Our findings reveal that active place attachment acts as a potential protective factor, being associated with the low-stable trajectory. In contrast, traditional attachment and relative place attachments were linked to the moderate-decreasing and high-decreasing trajectories, suggesting initially higher addiction levels and highlighting their potential role as risk factors for virtual addiction. These results are valuable for designing targeted interventions, such as nature-based programs and community engagement initiatives, to mitigate internet addiction by strengthening individuals’ connection to physical spaces.