Watts, Nancy;
(2024)
Social media use, social comparisons and mental health in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aims: Online, upward social comparisons (USCs) have garnered increasing attention in recent years as a potential mechanism underlying the association between social media use (SMU) and mental health (MH). However, most previous research has failed to control for offline USCs. Further, results regarding online USCs in the SMU-MH association are mixed, suggesting inter-individual differences may be at play. The present study sought to investigate the role of online USC in the SMU-MH association, whilst controlling for offline USCs and investigating potential interactions with socioeconomic status (SES). Method: A secondary analysis was undertaken, using self-report data on SMU, online and offline USC, SES, and anxiety and depression, originally gathered from a sample of UK adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed using regression, mediation and moderated mediation analyses. Results: SMU was positively associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Online USCs partially mediated the SMU-MH association, even after controlling for offline USCs. SES, when measured via a composite index of low socioeconomic profile (SEP) (but not when measured in terms of level of education), was found to interact with online USCs in the SMU-MH association, with those from a lower SES background experiencing more harmful effects of online USCs; however, this was only the case when extreme scores were removed. Conclusions: The present study is one of the few that have controlled for offline USCs and one of the first to investigate how inter-individual differences in SES may interact with such, furthering our understanding of how SMU transforms social comparison processes, their associated MH effects, and who in society may be most vulnerable. Further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings, particularly longitudinal research and conclusions around causality.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Social media use, social comparisons and mental health in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| 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 |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10200337 |
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