Social, psychological and behavioral profiles of emerging adult social media users and their association with mental health risk

Intensive and problematic social media use were linked to an increased mental health risk. Research studies examining increased risk among social media users focused on associations between singular social, psychological, or behavioural risk factors and mental health outcomes which does not support the detection of risk patterns.

Objective: The current study examined whether there are separate risk profiles which are associated with different levels of mental health risk in emerging adult social media users.

Methods: A 1447-person sample of Canadians between 18-24 years were recruited online. Eleven social, psychological and behavioural risk factors were measured: cyberbullying victimization, in-person and online social support, self-esteem, upward social comparison, fear of missing out, peer social media literacy, problematic social media use, social media, sleep, and physical activity time. Depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempt were measured as primary outcomes. Alcohol and drug use and substance-related problems were assessed as secondary outcomes. LPA was used to identify user profiles. Logistic regression and ANOVA were utilized to examine the association between profile membership and mental health and substance use outcomes.

Results: Four different risk profiles were identified which varied in mental health risk: Healthy, Frequent, Avoidant, and Problematic Users. Distinct user groups may benefit from different interventions tailored to their profile-specific risk factors. Interventions aiming to decrease social media use may only benefit Frequent Users. Avoidant and Problematic users may benefit from learning effective coping with cyberbullying victimization, with special focus on problematic social media use in Problematic Users and excessive sleep and physical activity time in Avoidant Users. Interventions should specifically aim to reach Problematic Users who are the most vulnerable to develop anxiety and depressive symptoms and attempt suicide. Conclusions: Profile-specific interventions are necessary to address mental health risk in social media users requiring pre-intervention assessment of profile membership.

Kitti Bessenyei is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Candidate at Dalhousie University, Canada. Her broad research interests focus on substance use and other addictive or unhealthy behaviors that impact people’s mental health. Within this wider area, her research concentrates on healthy versus unhealthy use of modern technologies and exploring ways to take advantage of technological advances in mental health care. Her dissertation work examines determinants of mental health problems in emerging adult social media users.