Tibber, Marc S;
Milne, Georgia;
Fonagy, Peter;
Dekker, Tessa M;
(2024)
The online world as a means of connection and disconnection during the COVID-19 pandemic: A test of the interpersonal-connections-behaviour framework.
Journal of Affective Disorders
, 347
pp. 533-540.
10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.006.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The interpersonal-connections-behaviour framework proposes that social media is helpful/unhelpful to the individual to the extent that it facilitates/hinders satisfaction of core needs for acceptance and belonging (connecting and disconnecting pathways). However, little research has, to date, explicitly tested this framework. METHODS: Both pathways were explored in a cross-sectional sample of UK adults at the start of the pandemic (N = 632) and in longitudinal (cross-lagged) analyses (N = 227-240). Participants completed measures of online and offline socialising with friends and family (connecting pathway), and online and offline social comparisons (disconnecting pathway), anxiety, depression and loneliness. RESULTS: In cross-sectional analyses higher levels of online comparisons were associated with poorer mental health, an effect that survived after controlling for offline comparisons, and was partially mediated by loneliness. Counter to our predictions, online socialising was also associated with poorer mental health. Longitudinal analyses did not support predicted directions of causality. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include a lack of testing of individual-level moderators, the use of single item questions to probe some constructs, and an inability to test for effects potentially operating at different time-scales. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reported partially support the interpersonal-connections-behaviour framework in highlighting a disconnecting (but not connecting) pathway between online engagement and mental health. From a clinical perspective they highlight the importance of including people's online lives when considering mental health risk and resilience, particularly (one might argue) during periods of social isolation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The online world as a means of connection and disconnection during the COVID-19 pandemic: A test of the interpersonal-connections-behaviour framework |
| Location: | Netherlands |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.006 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.006 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, Social connection, Social media, Social network site |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10183853 |
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