College students coping with COVID-19: stress-buffering effects of self-disclosure on social media and parental support

ABSTRACT

The ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic is a salient cause for distress among college students. Studies have indicated that parental support, as well as self-disclosure on social media, can alleviate the negative impacts of stressful life disruptions on students’ perceived stress levels. Using survey data collected from a sample of 215 college students from a university in the Southwestern United States, this study examined the stress-buffering effects of self-disclosure on social media and students’ perceived support from their parents. The results show that 1) core self-disclosure on social media and 2) support from parent(s) both moderate the level of stress students are experiencing due to life disruptions caused by COVID-19. Therefore, we call for attention to social media’s role as an arena for mental health interventions and the importance of parental support for college students in a crisis.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• self-disclosure
• parental support
• mental health
• stress
• life disruption

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lichen Zhen

Lichen Zhen is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. Her research interests lie at the intersection of social network analysis, online group collaboration, and organizational communication.

Yuanfeixue Nan

Yuanfeixue Nan is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. Her research interest lies in the field of health communication.

Becky Pham

Becky Pham is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. She researches how families, children and youth appropriate new media, digital literacy, and transnational culture. Her research has been published in the Journal of Children and Media, New Media & Society, and in notable edited volumes.