Self-Esteem and Breadcrumbing Perpetration: The Mediating Role of Inauthentic Online Self-Presentation and Differences by Previous Breadcrumbing Experience

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between self-esteem and breadcrumbing perpetration and to explore the mediating role of inauthentic online self-presentation. It also examined differences in the study variables based on previous breadcrumbing experience. A quantitative research design was used, and data were collected from 346 young adults aged 18 to 25 years through purposive sampling. Three scales were used to collect the data. Self esteem scale by Fleming and Courtney (1984). Inauthentic online self-presentation was measured using a 6 subscale of the Presentation of Online Self Scale by Strimbu et al. (2021). BREAD-ASR Questionnaire by Rodríguez-García et al. (2020). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and mediation analysis through PROCESS. Independent-samples t-tests were also used to examine differences between participants based on their previous breadcrumbing experience. The results supported all the proposed hypotheses. Overall, the study helps explain how self-esteem and inauthentic online self-presentation may be related to breadcrumbing perpetration among young adults. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the psychological factors involved in online and romantic interactions and provide a foundation for future research on digital interpersonal relationships.