Analysis of the psychological traits, Facebook usage, and Facebook addiction model of Taiwanese university students

• Self-inferiority can significantly predict Facebook usage.
• Having a depressive character could significantly predict Facebook addiction.
• Facebook usage could significantly predict Facebook addiction.

The purposes of this study are to (1) identify the role of the psychological traits of university students in Facebook addiction and Facebook usage; and (2) explore the correlation between Facebook usage and Facebook addiction. This study treated 241 university students in Taiwan as the research subjects, and adopted the Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, Lai’s personality test, a Facebook usage scale, and a Facebook addiction scale (FAS). The structured equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The results showed that: (1) self-inferiority can significantly predict Facebook usage; and (2) having a depressive character and Facebook usage can significantly predict Facebook addiction. Finally, discussion was conducted on the findings, and relevant suggestions were proposed for schools, students, and future studies.