Despite the salience of the social media context to psychosocial development, little is known about social media use patterns and how they relate to psychological and social functioning over time ...during early adolescence. This longitudinal study, therefore, identified subgroups of early adolescents based on their social media use and examined whether these subgroups predicted psychosocial functioning. Adolescents (
N
= 1205; 11–14 years; 51% female; 51% white) completed surveys at baseline and a six-month follow-up. There were three social media use subgroups at baseline: high overall social media use (8%); high Instagram/Snapchat use (53%); and low overall social media use (39%). The high social media use subgroup predicted higher depressive symptoms, panic disorder symptoms, delinquent behaviors, family conflict, as well as lower family and friend support, than the High-Instagram/Snapchat and low social media use subgroups. The high Instagram/Snapchat use subgroup predicted higher delinquent behaviors and school avoidance than the low social media use subgroup, but also higher close friendship competence and friend support as compared to both the high social media use and low social media use subgroups. Social media use patterns appear to differentially predict psychosocial adjustment during early adolescence, with high social media use being the most problematic and patterns of high Instagram/Snapchat use and low social media use having distinct developmental tradeoffs.
This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the associations between social media use and risky behaviors during adolescence, and evaluated study characteristics (e.g., sample age, type of ...social media platform assessed) that may moderate these relationships.
A comprehensive search strategy identified relevant studies from PsycInfo, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global.
The final sample included 27 independent cross-sectional studies with a total of 67,407 adolescents (Mage = 15.5, range: 12.6–18.0 years; 51.7% girls; 57.2% White). Results from random effects models indicated that there were positive, small-to-medium correlations between social media use and engagement in risky behaviors generally (r = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.16-0.25), substance use (r = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.12-0.26), and risky sexual behaviors (r = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.15-0.28). There were an insufficient number of independent samples available to conduct a random effect models for violence-related behaviors (k = 3). Moderator analyses suggested that studies assessing solely early social media platforms (e.g., Facebook/MySpace only) in relation to substance use had smaller effect sizes than substance use studies assessing a broader range of contemporary social media platforms. In addition, younger samples had larger effect sizes for studies focused on social media use and risky sexual behaviors.
The positive links identified between social media and risky behaviors during adolescence in this meta-analysis suggest that developmental theories of risk taking would benefit from incorporating the social media context. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify directionality and make more specific practice and policy recommendations so that social media is a safe place in which adolescents can thrive.
A primary goal of this study was to examine adolescents’ use of the most commonly used social media apps in the United States. An additional goal was to examine the relationship between social media ...use and adolescent externalizing behaviors. The moderating influences of gender and race/ethnicity also were assessed. The sample included 1,072 adolescents (M age = 12.74 years, SD = 0.67, 51% girls; 64% White). Participating adolescents completed a survey in school. Most of the adolescents did not use Facebook or Twitter. However, the majority of adolescents used Instagram and Snapchat, and girls were more likely to use these social media apps than were boys. Adolescents who regularly used social media reported more delinquent behavior and poorer behavioral conduct in comparison with nonusers. In addition, boys who used Facebook regularly and Hispanic adolescents who used Instagram regularly were at an elevated risk for delinquent behaviors and poorer behavioral conduct.
Research investigating social media use typically focus on late adolescents and young adults, despite a growing number of early adolescents, 93% to 97%—having at least one social media platform. ...Also, early adolescents are more likely to engage with newer sites, such as Snapchat and Instagram, than older platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Given the evolving landscape of social media, the present study examines the impact of the use of various social media platforms, along with its moderating effects, on adolescents’ academic achievement, using a sample of N = 1,459 early adolescents. Results were such that, as frequency of use on each platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat increased, academic achievement decreased. Specific to interaction effects, frequent use of Facebook and Instagram and early adolescents’ academic achievement were moderated by motheradolescent communication; while gender moderated the association between frequent use of Twitter and Snapchat and early adolescents’ academic achievement. Implications are discussed.
School connectedness is an important feature to consider within the school environment because it likely accounts for why some youth thrive and others struggle with internalizing problems. ...Furthermore, internalizing problems typically do not occur in isolation of each other, but rather anxiety and depressive symptoms frequently co-occur and increase subsequent risk for each other. As such, the primary study objectives were to (a) evaluate the bidirectional relationships between school connectedness and internalizing symptoms and (b) examine whether being at high risk of an anxiety disorder or major depression moderated these relationships. Adolescents attending public middle schools (N = 1,344; 11-14 years; 51% female; 52% White) completed surveys in school at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up. Baseline anxiety disorder risk status moderated the relationships between school connectedness and internalizing symptoms. Among adolescents at low risk of an anxiety disorder, higher baseline school connectedness predicted improvements in depressive symptoms and, conversely, higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted lower school connectedness. School connectedness and depressive symptoms were unrelated among adolescents at high risk of an anxiety disorder. There were no significant associations between school connectedness and anxiety symptoms, regardless of baseline risk for major depression. Implications for school-based intervention strategies are discussed, such as fostering school connectedness and screening for internalizing problems.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the brief loss of control over eating scale (LOCES‐B) in a community sample of adolescents.
Method
Participants were ...1,116 adolescents (11–15 years; 53% girls; 53% non‐Hispanic White) recruited from middle schools in the Northeast United States. Participants were administered self‐report surveys during school in the fall of 2016.
Results
Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the LOCES‐B total score was unidimensional, which was invariant across gender and weight status. The LOCES‐B had excellent internal consistency (α = .92). The LOCES‐B total score had large, positive relationships with the frequency of LOC eating episodes, objective bulimic episodes, and subjective bulimic episodes, and a small, positive relationship with objective overeating episode frequency. After adjusting for demographics, anthropometrics, and LOC eating frequency, adolescents reporting higher scores on the LOCES‐B total score had greater body image dissatisfaction, more internalizing symptoms, and lower trait effortful control.
Discussion
Findings suggested that the LOCES‐B is a reliable and valid measure of LOC eating in early adolescents. The availability of the LOCES‐B has the potential to elucidate the developmental trajectories, predictors, and outcomes of LOC eating across the full severity spectrum in large cohort studies of youth.
Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders among adolescents and can be associated with long-term adverse outcomes if untreated. Our study examined the association between ...family functioning and symptoms of five anxiety disorders and the potential moderating role of trait mindfulness among adolescent boys and girls. The sample included 1333 adolescents ages 11–15 (
M
age
= 12.24;
SD
= 0.69; 51% girls; 52% non-Hispanic White) from the Northeast United States who completed a survey in the fall of 2016 and again in the spring of 2017. Multi-group path analyses were conducted to examine the association separately by gender. For boys, high mindfulness buffered the effect of low family support and high family conflict on the panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), separation anxiety (SEP), and severe school avoidance (SSA). For girls, a cumulative effect of high mindfulness and high family support reduced symptoms for PD and SSA, whereas high mindfulness buffered the effect of low family cohesion on GAD and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Our findings highlight the importance of family functioning on anxiety disorders in adolescents and suggest trait mindfulness may serve as a potential buffer for anxiety in adolescent boys. Implications for these gender differences, potential benefits of socio-emotional learning instruction for adolescents, and future directions are explored.
Highlights
Our study examines symptoms of five distinct anxiety disorders in adolescents.
Family functioning during early adolescence is associated with anxiety symptoms in boys and girls.
Mindfulness moderates the association between family functioning and anxiety symptoms differently for boys and girls.
The current study examined relationships between different types of social media platforms used and psychological functioning in a diverse, national U.S. sample of emerging adults (18–22 years). ...Participants completed surveys online in the spring of 2014. Findings from a path analysis model suggested that individuals who used a higher number of different social media platforms reported more anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, total alcohol consumption, and drug use. Facebook use was associated uniquely with depressive symptoms and Snapchat use with substance use. Neither Instagram use nor Twitter use was associated with any measures of psychological functioning. Gender differences also were not observed. Findings highlight the importance of considering the number of different social media platforms used, as well as the specific platform itself, when conceptualizing the relationship between social media use and psychological functioning in emerging adults.
The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescents’ psychological functioning (as indicated by depressive symptoms) and substance use (alcohol and drug use) and ...membership in adolescent–parent communication trajectory subgroups in a large, diverse community sample of adolescents from the United States (n = 1,057; 53% female; 51% Caucasian; Age: M = 16.15, SD = .75). Adolescents completed questionnaires at three annual assessments. Fit indices from parallel process growth mixture models suggested three dual trajectory classes: (1) Average communication with both parents (Average‐Both); (2) Good adolescent–mother and poor adolescent–father communication (Good‐Mom/Poor‐Dad); and (3) Poor adolescent–mother and good adolescent–father communication (Poor‐Mom/Good‐Dad). The trajectory classes differed by gender. In addition, psychological functioning and substance use were differentially related to the trajectory classes.
This study examined the temporal relation between self-competence and depressive symptoms in a large, diverse, U.S. community sample of 1,344 adolescents (51% female;
X
¯
a
g
e
= 12.73, SD = .69, ...range = 11-14 years). Surveys were administered to seventh- and eighth-grade students at participating high schools in the fall of 2016 and the spring of 2017. Girls reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and self-competence in behavioral conduct and close friendships than boys, whereas boys reported higher levels of self-competence in athletic, physical appearance, and social domains than girls. Results from autoregressive, cross-lagged path models indicated that depressive symptoms predicted self-competence more consistently than the reverse. There were no gender differences in the associations between self-competence and depressive symptoms. Findings from this study underscore the importance of considering both directions of effect when examining psychosocial factors associated with depressive symptoms during early adolescence.
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