Reexploring Problematic Social Media Use and Its Relationship with Adolescent Mental Health. Findings from the “LifeOnSoMe”-Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics Across Boys and Girls

Variable		Boys (N = 899, 44.4%)		Girls (N = 1124, 55.6%)
		Mean (SD)	Valid n (%)	Mean (SD)	Valid n (%)	p-value^a
Age		17.3 (0.9)	899	17.4 (0.9)	1124	0.13
Symptoms of depression^b		17.9 (4.9)	858	21.7 (6.2)	1089	<0.001
Symptoms of anxiety^c		11.1 (4.5)	870	14.0 (4.9)	1104	<0.001
Mental well-being^d		52.0 (10.0)	825	46.2 (9.4)	1078	<0.001
Time spent on social media	Less than 2 hours		320 (36%)		246 (22%)	<0.001
	2–4 hours		326 (37%)		402 (36%)
	>4-5 hours		134 (15%)		284 (25%)
	More than 5 hours		100 (11%)		185 (17%)

Notes: ^aLinear model Anova, ^bSMFQ, ^cGAD-7, ^dWEMWBS.

Figure 1 Exploratory graph analysis of 28 social media items.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of the Retained Factors Across Gender

		Boys		Girls
Factor	Item	Mean (SD)	Valid n	Mean (SD)	Valid n
Subjective overuse		2.7 (0.9)	859	3.2 (0.9)	1099
	1. Social media takes away focus from more important things	3.0 (1.0)	870	3.4 (0.9)	1109
	2. I am addicted to social media	2.7 (1.2)	866	3.3 (1.1)	1106
	3. My parents/guardians think I spend too much time on social media	2.4 (1.2)	868	2.9 (1.2)	1110
	6. I spend too much time on social media	3.9 (1.2)	867	3.6 (1.1)	1110
	7. I wish to reduce the amount of time I spend on social media	2.6 (1.3)	869	3.3 (1.2)	1110
Social obligations		2.2 (0.8)	838	3.1 (0.9)	1078
	4. I fear I might miss out on something if I am not on social media	2.4 (1.2)	869	3.0 (1.2)	1108
	5. Social media gives me a sense of control or overview of what is going on	3.0 (1.2)	866	3.5 (1.1)	1110
	12. I feel that I must like and/or comment on what my friends post on social media	2.2 (1.2)	862	3.6 (1.3)	1100
	13. I feel that I have to respond to all messages, “streaks” and similar things I receive	2.0 (1.1)	860	2.6 (1.3)	1100
	14. If I do not respond, like or comment, then it can have negative consequences	1.6 (0.9)	860	2.1 (1.1)	1102
	15. If my friends do not like or comment what I post on social media, I start thinking something is wrong	1.6 (0.9)	860	2.5 (1.3)	1098
	20. If I do not participate on social media, I will fall behind	2.4 (1.2)	850	3.1 (1.1)	1094
	24. I pay close attention to what my friends/boyfriend/girlfriend/family does through social media (for example stories, Snap map…)	2.4 (1.2)	847	3.3 (1.2)	1092
Source of concern		2.0 (0.8)	839	2.6 (0.9)	1082
	18. There is so much happening on social media that I often feel overwhelmed	1.7 (1.0)	855	2.3 (1.1)	1100
	19. I wish we could learn more about how social media affects us	2.4 (1.3)	858	3.0 (1.2)	1098
	25. Sometimes I feel like I am being monitored on social media (because what I do/where I am/who I am with, is visible)	2.0 (1.1)	844	2.5 (1.1)	1088

Abbreviation: SD, Standard Deviation.

Table 3 Linear Regression Analysis for Predicting Symptoms of Depression, Symptoms of Anxiety, Mental Well-Being and Time Spent on Social Media

	Symptoms of Depression			Symptoms of Anxiety			Mental Well-Being			Time Spent
	B (p)	B^STAND	95% CI	B (p)	B^STAND	95% CI	B (p)	B^STAND	95% CI	B (p)	B^STAND	95% CI
Subjective overuse	1.7***	0.3	1.4, 2.0	1.2***	0.3	1.0, 1.5	−2.0***	−0.2	−2.5, −1.5	0.6***	0.4	0.6, 0.7
Social obligations	2.2***	0.4	1.9, 2.5	1.7***	0.4	1.5, 2.0	−2.5***	−0.3	−3.0, −1.9	0.5***	0.3	0.4, 0.6
Source of concern	2.0***	0.3	1.7, 2.3	1.7***	0.4	1.5, 2.0	−2.4***	−0.2	−2.9, −1.9	0.2***	0.1	0.1, 0.3
Gender	4.0***	0.6	3.4, 4.5	2.9***	0.6	2.5, 3.4	−5.9***	−0.6	−6.9, −5.0	0.2***	0.3	0.2, 0.3

Notes: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001. B^STAND. = Estimated association when dependent variable is Z-scored (mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1). Units in standard deviation.

Abbreviations: B, Beta; CI, Confidence Interval.

Table 4 Gender-Adjusted Multiple Regression Analysis for Predicting Depression, Anxiety, Well-Being and Time Spent on Social Media

	Symptoms of Depression		Symptoms of Anxiety		Mental Well-Being		Time Spent
	B (p)	95% CI	B (p)	95% CI	B (p)	95% CI	B (p)	95% CI
Subjective overuse	1.1***	0.8, 1.4	0.8***	0.06, 1.1	−1.1***	−1.6, −0.6	0.6***	0.5, 0.7
Social obligations	1.5***	1.2, 1.9	1.2***	0.9, 1.5	−1.2***	−1.8, −0.7	0.4***	0.3, 0.5
Source of concern	1.5***	1.2, 1.8	1.4***	1.1, 1.6	−1.5***	−2.0, −1.0	0.1***	0.1, 0.2

Notes: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

Abbreviations: B, Beta; CI, Confidence Interval.