Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls
IntroductionAdolescents frequently use informal support seeking to cope with stress and worries. Past research in face-to-face contexts has shown that the relationship between informal support seeking and mental health is influenced by the specific strategy used and the mode through which support is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1040636/full |
| _version_ | 1811158996369801216 |
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| author | Erin Mackenzie Erin Mackenzie Anne McMaugh Penny Van Bergen Penny Van Bergen Roberto H. Parada |
| author_facet | Erin Mackenzie Erin Mackenzie Anne McMaugh Penny Van Bergen Penny Van Bergen Roberto H. Parada |
| author_sort | Erin Mackenzie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionAdolescents frequently use informal support seeking to cope with stress and worries. Past research in face-to-face contexts has shown that the relationship between informal support seeking and mental health is influenced by the specific strategy used and the mode through which support is sought. To date, little research has considered the relationship between support seeking online and adolescent mental health.MethodsIn this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) examined the mediating role of co-rumination in the relationships between seeking support from friends or online and two measures of mental health: depression and anxiety. Participants were 186 adolescent girls, drawn from four independent girls’ schools in Sydney, Australia. Four brief vignettes described common social stressors and participants rated their likelihood of seeking support from close friends and from informal online sources. Co-rumination was measured using a short form of the Co-rumination Questionnaire and depression and anxiety were measured with the youth version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-Youth (DASS-Y).ResultsDifferent patterns of findings were found for support seeking from close friends and support seeking online. First, support seeking from friends was related to lower levels of depression and anxiety while seeking support online was related to higher levels depression and anxiety. Second, co-rumination suppressed the relationship between seeking support from friends and depression, but not online support seeking and depression or anxiety.DiscussionThese findings suggest that co-rumination reduces the benefits of seeking support from friends but is unrelated to online support seeking. The findings also confirm the problematic nature of online support seeking for adolescent girls’ mental health, particularly in response to social stressors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:33:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a17bf7f88a7f44c191fc17e35584191b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:33:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-a17bf7f88a7f44c191fc17e35584191b2023-03-07T04:42:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402023-03-011410.3389/fpsyt.2023.10406361040636Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girlsErin Mackenzie0Erin Mackenzie1Anne McMaugh2Penny Van Bergen3Penny Van Bergen4Roberto H. Parada5Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, AustraliaMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaMacquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaSchool of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaCentre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, AustraliaIntroductionAdolescents frequently use informal support seeking to cope with stress and worries. Past research in face-to-face contexts has shown that the relationship between informal support seeking and mental health is influenced by the specific strategy used and the mode through which support is sought. To date, little research has considered the relationship between support seeking online and adolescent mental health.MethodsIn this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) examined the mediating role of co-rumination in the relationships between seeking support from friends or online and two measures of mental health: depression and anxiety. Participants were 186 adolescent girls, drawn from four independent girls’ schools in Sydney, Australia. Four brief vignettes described common social stressors and participants rated their likelihood of seeking support from close friends and from informal online sources. Co-rumination was measured using a short form of the Co-rumination Questionnaire and depression and anxiety were measured with the youth version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-Youth (DASS-Y).ResultsDifferent patterns of findings were found for support seeking from close friends and support seeking online. First, support seeking from friends was related to lower levels of depression and anxiety while seeking support online was related to higher levels depression and anxiety. Second, co-rumination suppressed the relationship between seeking support from friends and depression, but not online support seeking and depression or anxiety.DiscussionThese findings suggest that co-rumination reduces the benefits of seeking support from friends but is unrelated to online support seeking. The findings also confirm the problematic nature of online support seeking for adolescent girls’ mental health, particularly in response to social stressors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1040636/fullonline support seekingco-ruminationdepressionadolescentsanxiety |
| spellingShingle | Erin Mackenzie Erin Mackenzie Anne McMaugh Penny Van Bergen Penny Van Bergen Roberto H. Parada Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls Frontiers in Psychiatry online support seeking co-rumination depression adolescents anxiety |
| title | Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls |
| title_full | Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls |
| title_fullStr | Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls |
| title_full_unstemmed | Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls |
| title_short | Online support seeking, co-rumination, and mental health in adolescent girls |
| title_sort | online support seeking co rumination and mental health in adolescent girls |
| topic | online support seeking co-rumination depression adolescents anxiety |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1040636/full |
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