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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal prediction of intensity and emotional connection (EC) related to online social networking use at baseline on the risk of incident depression at nine-month follow-up among adolescents. METHODS: A total of 3196 secondary school students, who were online social networking users and free of depression at baseline, were included in this study. Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to investigate the longitudinal prediction of two dimensions of online social networking use intensity (social function use intensity (SFUI), entertainment function use intensity (EFUI)) and EC scores at baseline on incident depression at follow-up. RESULTS: The incidence of depression was 23.37 per 100-person-years during a nine-month follow-up period. Baseline SFUI and EFUI scores were significantly associated with higher level of incident depression (adjusted OR = 1.017, 95% CI: 1.004-1.029 for SFUI, p = 0.010; adjusted OR = 1.046, 95% CI: 1.012-1.080 for EFUI, p = 0.007), after adjustment of significant background factors and baseline depressive symptom score. The associations of EC at baseline and its interaction with SFUI and EFUI on incident depression were statistically non-significant. CONCLUSION: Online social networking use seems be a risk factor of depression among adolescents, regardless of its specific functions. Early intervention is recommended to reduce the level of online social networking use intensity as a means of preventing depression among adolescents.
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Redes Sociales en Línea , Adolescente , China/epidemiología , Depresión/epidemiología , Depresión/psicología , Humanos , Estudios Prospectivos , Red SocialRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The potential mechanisms underlying the association between online social networking use intensity and depressive symptoms are unclear and underresearched. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the potential roles of interpersonal psychosocial factors on the association between online social networking use intensity and depressive symptoms among early adolescents. METHODS: A total of 4237 adolescents from a 9-month longitudinal study were included. Score changes (indicated as â³) for the social function use intensity (SFUI) and entertainment function use intensity (EFUI) subscales of the Online Social Networking Activity Intensity Scale and for friendship quality, perceived family support, perceived friend support, parent-adolescent conflict, social nonconfidence, and depressive symptoms were analyzed. The potential mediation effects of unfavorable psychosocial factors and suppression effects of favorable psychosocial factors on the association of â³SFUI with â³CES-D and the association of â³EFUI with â³CES-D were tested using hierarchical regression models. RESULTS: The association between â³SFUI and â³CES-D was partially mediated by â³mother-adolescent conflict (mediation effect size 5.11%, P=.02) and â³social nonconfidence (mediation effect size 20.97%, P<.001) but partially suppressed by â³friendship quality, â³perceived family support, and â³perceived friend support, with suppression effects of -0.011 (P=.003), -0.009 (P=.003), and -0.022 (P<.001), respectively. The association between â³EFUI and â³CES-D was partially mediated by â³social nonconfidence (mediation effect size 30.65%, P<.001) but partially suppressed by â³perceived family support and â³perceived friend support, with suppression effects of -0.036 (P<.001) and -0.039 (P<.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The association between online social networking use intensity and depressive symptoms was partially mediated through the indirect increase in social nonconfidence and mother-adolescent conflict; however, better perceived social support and friendship quality would partially compensate for the harmful impact of online social networking use intensity on depressive symptoms among early adolescents.
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Redes Sociales en Línea , Adolescente , Depresión , Femenino , Humanos , Estudios Longitudinales , Estudios Prospectivos , Red Social , Apoyo SocialRESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Problematic online social networking use is prevalent among adolescents, but consensus about the instruments and their optimal cut-off points is lacking. This study derived an optimal cut-off point for the validated Online Social Networking Addiction (OSNA) scale to identify probable OSNA cases among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A survey recruited 4,951 adolescent online social networking users. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were applied to the validated 8-item OSNA scale to determine its optimal cut-off point. RESULTS: The 3-class model was selected by multiple criteria, and validated in a randomly split-half subsample. Accordingly, participants were categorized into the low risk (36.4%), average risk (50.4%), and high risk (13.2%) groups. The highest risk group was regarded as "cases" and the rest as "non-cases", serving as the reference standard in ROC analysis, which identified an optimal cut-off point of 23 (sensitivity: 97.2%, specificity: 95.2%). The cut-off point was used to classify participants into positive (probable case: 17:0%) and negative groups according to their OSNA scores. The positive group (probable cases) reported significantly longer duration and higher intensity of online social networking use, and higher prevalence of Internet addiction than the negative group. CONCLUSIONS: The classification strategy and results are potentially useful for future research that measure problematic online social networking use and its impact on health among adolescents. The approach can facilitate research that requires cut-off points of screening tools but gold standards are unavailable.