Abstract:
This study investigated the relationship between Social Media Maintenance
Expectations (SMME), Relationship Satisfaction (RS), and Attachment Styles among
first-year Psychology students at the University of Limpopo. The research aimed to
understand the mediating role of attachment styles and explore the factors influencing
RS within the context of social media use. The data were collected through surveys
and analysed using mediation analysis and ordinal regression models.
The findings revealed several important insights. First, higher attachment styles were
positively associated with increased RS (P Za = 0.002 < 0.05), even when controlling
for SMME. This highlights the significance of attachment orientations in predicting RS
among first-year Psychology students. Second, individuals with anxious attachment
styles tended to have higher expectations for social media maintenance. This
suggests that attachment styles influence individuals' perceptions of how relationships
should be maintained on social media platforms. Furthermore, SMME played a
significant role in influencing RS, independently of the mediating effect of attachment
styles. The more an individual’s SMME were met, the higher their RS.
These findings highlight the importance of considering attachment styles and SMME
in understanding relationship dynamics and developing interventions to promote
healthy and satisfying relationships among first-year Psychology students.
Recommendations include attachment-aware relationship interventions, education on
healthy social media use, support for relationship building, continued research and
evaluation, and promoting relationship quality awareness. By implementing these
recommendations, educational institutions and counselling centres can provide
effective interventions and support systems to enhance relationship quality and well-being among first-year university students
