The Impact of Social Media on College Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Multinational Review of the Existing Literature

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Purpose of Review

During the COVID-19 pandemic, both social media use and rates of anxiety and depression among college students have increased significantly. This begs the question, what is the relationship between social media use and college student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Recent Findings

Prior studies have found mixed results regarding the relationship between social media use and college student mental health. This relationship has become increasingly complex during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that excessive or problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic was correlated with worse mental health outcomes that could be mitigated by dialectical thinking, optimism, mindfulness, and cognitive reappraisal.

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic acts as a moderator by strengthening the relationship between social media use and mental health. Future studies should consider the impact of social media on college student mental health and concentrate on intervention initiatives to ensure the psychological well-being of college students during a global pandemic outbreak.

Related collections

Most cited references 48

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

Robert L Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B W Williams … (2006)

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental disorders; however, there is no brief clinical measure for assessing GAD. The objective of this study was to develop a brief self-report scale to identify probable cases of GAD and evaluate its reliability and validity. A criterion-standard study was performed in 15 primary care clinics in the United States from November 2004 through June 2005. Of a total of 2740 adult patients completing a study questionnaire, 965 patients had a telephone interview with a mental health professional within 1 week. For criterion and construct validity, GAD self-report scale diagnoses were compared with independent diagnoses made by mental health professionals; functional status measures; disability days; and health care use. A 7-item anxiety scale (GAD-7) had good reliability, as well as criterion, construct, factorial, and procedural validity. A cut point was identified that optimized sensitivity (89%) and specificity (82%). Increasing scores on the scale were strongly associated with multiple domains of functional impairment (all 6 Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form General Health Survey scales and disability days). Although GAD and depression symptoms frequently co-occurred, factor analysis confirmed them as distinct dimensions. Moreover, GAD and depression symptoms had differing but independent effects on functional impairment and disability. There was good agreement between self-report and interviewer-administered versions of the scale. The GAD-7 is a valid and efficient tool for screening for GAD and assessing its severity in clinical practice and research.

0 comments Cited 6957 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure.

K Kroenke, R L Spitzer, J. Williams (2001)

While considerable attention has focused on improving the detection of depression, assessment of severity is also important in guiding treatment decisions. Therefore, we examined the validity of a brief, new measure of depression severity. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders. The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day). The PHQ-9 was completed by 6,000 patients in 8 primary care clinics and 7 obstetrics-gynecology clinics. Construct validity was assessed using the 20-item Short-Form General Health Survey, self-reported sick days and clinic visits, and symptom-related difficulty. Criterion validity was assessed against an independent structured mental health professional (MHP) interview in a sample of 580 patients. As PHQ-9 depression severity increased, there was a substantial decrease in functional status on all 6 SF-20 subscales. Also, symptom-related difficulty, sick days, and health care utilization increased. Using the MHP reinterview as the criterion standard, a PHQ-9 score > or =10 had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 88% for major depression. PHQ-9 scores of 5, 10, 15, and 20 represented mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression, respectively. Results were similar in the primary care and obstetrics-gynecology samples. In addition to making criteria-based diagnoses of depressive disorders, the PHQ-9 is also a reliable and valid measure of depression severity. These characteristics plus its brevity make the PHQ-9 a useful clinical and research tool.

0 comments Cited 5888 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.

David Watson, Lee Anna Clark, Auke Tellegen (1988)

In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented.

0 comments Cited 3155 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Jessica M. Haddad: jhaddad@bwh.harvard.edu

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Curr Psychiatry Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Curr Psychiatry Rep

Title: Current Psychiatry Reports

Publisher: Springer US (New York )

ISSN (Print): 1523-3812

ISSN (Electronic): 1535-1645

Publication date (Electronic): 6 October 2021

Publication date (Print): 2021

Volume: 23

Issue: 11

Electronic Location Identifier: 70

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.62560.37, ISNI 0000 0004 0378 8294, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, ; 75 Francis St., 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[2 ]GRID grid.38142.3c, ISNI 000000041936754X, Harvard Medical School, ; 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[3 ]GRID grid.2515.3, ISNI 0000 0004 0378 8438, Boston Children’s Hospital, ; 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[4 ]GRID grid.62560.37, ISNI 0000 0004 0378 8294, Department of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, ; 75 Francis St., 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[5 ]GRID grid.38142.3c, ISNI 000000041936754X, Harvard College, ; 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

Article

Publisher ID: 1288

DOI: 10.1007/s11920-021-01288-y

PMC ID: 8493361

PubMed ID: 34613542

SO-VID: 3820038f-878a-416a-8803-4607c01c70c2

License:

This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.

History

Date accepted : 27 August 2021

Custom metadata

ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: covid-19,pandemic,college students,mental health,social media,literature review

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: covid-19, pandemic, college students, mental health, social media, literature review

The Impact of Social Media on College Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Multinational Review of the Existing Literature

Read this article at

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Recent Findings

Summary

Related collections

Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 48

A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure.

Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.

Author and article information

Contributors

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Categories

Custom metadata

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 321

Cited by 26

Most referenced authors 1,344