Meta-analysis of studies on virtual addiction and explanatory social factors in Iranian society

Introduction: The aim of the present study is to meta-analyze the research conducted in the field of social determinants of virtual addiction, in order to estimate the effect size of social factors effective on virtual addiction.

Method: The statistical population of the research was made up of all the researches conducted until the end of fall 2011 in the field of the subject under study. Through targeted sampling, 15 studies that had suitable characteristics to enter the meta-analysis were selected. In order to analyze the data, the second edition of the comprehensive meta-analysis software (CMA) was used, and due to the heterogeneity between the studies, the random effects model was used to combine the results and reach the effect size.

Or Fateha: The estimated effect size is 412.0, which is within the confidence range at a moderate to high level based on Cohen's interpretation system.

The effect of individual social factors showed that "social trust", "lifestyle", "social support" and "social and family relations" had the greatest effect on virtual addiction.

Discussion: Considering the widespread use of virtual space and social networks and in order to reduce the negative aspects of dependence on it, it is necessary to pay attention to social factors related to it.