Longitudinal association between social media use and psychological distress among adolescents

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The study did not test possible pathways between social media use and mental health such as cyberbullying, sleep, body image, or self-esteem.

“Third, we did not test for possible pathways between social media use and mental health such as cyberbullying, sleep, body image or self-esteem (Kelly et al. 2018).”

• cites Kelly et al. 2018 sourceSupported

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Divorce and family disruptions have deleterious impacts on children and adolescents.

“because of the compelling evidence showing the deleterious impact of divorce and family disruptions on children and adolescents (Amato 2000; Behere et al. 2017)”

• cites Amato 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Behere et al. 2017 sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

There is a lack of empirical evidence on the effects of social media use on adolescents because most studies have focused on young children or adults.

“there is a lack of empirical evidence on the effects of social media use on adolescents since the majority of studies have focused on young children or adults (Odgers and Jensen 2020).”

• cites Odgers and Jensen 2020 sourceSupported

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The role of gender in the social media and mental health relationship has been inconclusive.

“The role of gender in social media and mental health relationship has also been inconclusive (McCrae et al. 2017).”

• cites McCrae et al. 2017 sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

Depressed mood, social anxiety, physical anxiety, and time spent on social media all increased across the three waves, while parental support decreased.

“Symptoms of depressed mood, symptoms of social anxiety, physical symptoms of anxiety, and time spent on social media increased over the three waves of the study, and parental support decreased.”

May combine two claims.

For all three psychological distress outcomes, symptoms were lowest among adolescents reporting greater parental support, living with both parents, and male gender.

“For all three psychological distress outcome variables, symptoms were lowest for those who reported greater parental support, living with both parents and of male gender.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

In the end-point OLS sensitivity analysis, R-squared values were 0.299 for depressed mood, 0.326 for physical anxiety, and 0.374 for social anxiety.

“The sensitivity analysis for the end-point OLS regression R-squared values for symptoms of depressed mood, symptoms of physical anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms were 0.299, 0.326, and 0.374, respectively.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Various covariance models were compared using Akaike's Information Criterion, and the best-fitting structure included an unstructured covariance matrix.

“Various covariance models were compared using Akaike's Information Criterion to determine the best fit to the data (Gurka 2006), taking into account correlations between observations over time. The best-fitting structure included unstructured covariance matrix.”

• cites Gurka 2006 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The single social media time question is comparable with similar measures used in other studies of adolescent social media time.

“This scale is comparable with similar measures in other studies examining how much time adolescents spend on social media (Twenge et al. 2018).”

• cites Twenge et al. 2018 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

The study data show a positive relationship between social media use and increased psychological distress, although the effects were weak to small.

“our data show is positively related to increased levels of psychological distress, although the effects were weak to small.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

No participants withdrew from the study, and those lost at follow-up were students not present in school on the survey day.

“No one withdrew from the study, and those lost at follow up are students that were not present in school on the day of the survey.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

One longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict later depressive symptoms, but greater depressive symptoms predicted more frequent social media use.

“Recent studies have begun to do so with one longitudinal study finding that social media use did not predict later depressive symptoms, but rather that greater depressive symptoms predicted more frequent social media use (Heffer et al. 2019).”

• cites Heffer et al. 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

Adolescent social media use has been associated with less family time and more conflicts with parents.

“adolescent social media use has been associated with less family time and more conflicts with parents (Williams and Merten 2011)”

• cites Williams and Merten 2011 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

There is no clear consensus in the literature on whether social media is related to well-being.

“To date there is no clear consensus in the literature on whether or not there is a relationship between social media and well-being (Orben et al. 2019; Orben and Przybylski 2019; Twenge 2019; Twenge and Campbell 2019).”

• cites Orben et al. 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Orben and Przybylski 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Twenge 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The study did not test for the directionality of effects.

“Finally, we did not test for the directionality of effects.”

May combine two claims.

The questionnaires had high reliability and included validated measures of different anxiety types over three years.

“Finally, the questionnaires were empirically supported with high reliability and we included validated measures on different types of anxiety over three years, the first study to do so.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

The effect of social media on psychological distress is most likely multifactorial.

“However, the effect of social media on psychological distress is most likely multifactorial and a better understanding of the mechanisms involved is required before we can warrant major concerns about the longitudinal impact of social media on adolescent mental health.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Self-report measures might not accurately reflect adolescents' time spent on social media.

“Self-report measures might not accurately reflect the time that adolescents spend on social media and this area of inquiry would benefit from designing multi-report studies that include ecological momentary assessment as well as reporting from parents.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Identical linear mixed models were run on standardized dependent and independent variables to produce standardized parameter estimates.

“Additionally, identical linear mixed models were conducted on the standardized dependent and independent variables to produce standardized parameter estimates for the model.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The Perceived Parental Support Scale has been validated in a multi-country sample and shown good internal consistency and convergent validity.

“The scale has been validated in a multi-country sample and shown good internal consistency and convergent validity (Kristjansson et al. 2011).”

• cites Kristjansson et al. 2011 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

The depression dimension scale of the Original Symptom Checklist demonstrates good internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

“The scale demonstrates good internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Derogatis and Unger 2010).”

• cites Derogatis and Unger 2010 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Accurate model parameter estimation was supported by using residual maximum likelihood with the Kenward and Roger 1997 approximation of degrees of freedom.

“Accurate model parameter estimations were ensured by use of the residual maximum likelihood approach with the Kenward and Roger, 1997 approximation of degrees of freedom.”

• cites Kenward and Roger, 1997 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The transformation framework proposes that social media's unique context fundamentally transforms adolescents' peer experiences across multiple domains.

“The transformation framework (Nesi et al. 2018a, 2018b) proposes that the unique context of social media fundamentally transforms adolescents' peer experiences across multiple domains.”

• cites Nesi et al. 2018a, 2018bNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

In this sample, Cronbach's alpha for social anxiety was 0.896 at T1, 0.915 at T2, and 0.920 at T3.

“In this sample, Cronbach's alpha was 0.896 (T1), 0.915 (T2), and 0.920 (T3).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

A sensitivity analysis using OLS regression end-point analysis was conducted to determine model effect sizes.

“Sensitivity analysis was conducted using OLS regression end-point analysis to determine model effect sizes (R-square values).”

May combine two claims.

The gender interaction effect is very weak and may not be clinically important.

“Girls in our study reported more psychological distress than boys; the relationship between social media use and all three outcomes was significantly stronger for girls compared to boys, although the interaction effect is very weak and may not be of clinical importance.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The study used a within-person approach to examine the relationship between social media and psychological distress in a birth cohort over three time points.

“We used a within-person approach to examine the relationship between social media and symptoms of psychological distress among a birth cohort over three time points.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The physical symptoms MASC scale has demonstrated good reliability and validity in a sample of Icelandic adolescents.

“The scale has demonstrated good reliability and validity in a sample of Icelandic adolescents (Olason et al. 2004).”

• cites Olason et al. 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

In this sample, Cronbach's alpha for depressed mood was 0.900 at T1, 0.906 at T2, and 0.920 at T3.

“In this sample, Cronbach's alpha was 0.900 (T1), 0.906 (T2), and 0.920 (T3).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Missing values within individual variables ranged from 1.7% to 5.8% and were handled with pairwise deletion unless otherwise specified.

“Missing values within individual variables ranged from 1.7% to 5.8% and are treated with pairwise deletion unless otherwise specified.”

May combine two claims.

The study had a large sample and high participant retention across all three time points.

“Our study also benefited from a large sample and high participant retention across each of the three time points.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

A recent cross-sectional study of Icelandic adolescents found passive social media use positively associated with emotional distress, while active use was not related to emotional distress.

“A recent cross-sectional study of Icelandic adolescents found that using social media passively was positively associated with symptoms of emotional distress, while active social media use did not relate to emotional distress (Thorisdottir et al. 2019).”

• cites Thorisdottir et al. 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

In this sample, Cronbach's alpha for parental support was 0.821 at T1, 0.872 at T2, and 0.899 at T3.

“In this sample, Cronbach's alpha was 0.821 (T1), 0.872 (T2), and 0.899 (T3).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

In this sample, Cronbach's alpha for physical symptoms was 0.886 at T1, 0.912 at T2, and 0.919 at T3.

“In this sample, Cronbach's alpha was 0.886 (T1), 0.912 (T2), and 0.919 (T3).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Anxiety is highly prevalent among girls in Western economies.

“given the high prevalence of anxiety among girls in Western economies (Bor et al. 2014)”

• cites Bor et al. 2014 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Distributional properties were assessed, and skew and kurtosis were around the common threshold of 1.0 or less in all instances except the PPS scale, where skew was 1.6 and kurtosis 3.0.

“Distributional properties were assessed for the scale variables, and skew and kurtosis determined to be around the common threshold of 1.0 or less in all instances, except the PPS scale where skew was 1.6 and kurtosis 3.0.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Social media use was treated as a continuous variable rather than as categories of high versus low use, reducing comparability with some other studies.

“Second, social media use was treated as a continuous variable instead of looking at different categories of high versus low social media use, thus diminishing comparability with some other studies.”

• AssumptionThe authors state this as an assumption: Time spent on social media has similar effects across the spectrum of social media use.

May combine two claims.

The relationship between time spent on social media and symptoms of depressed mood and physical anxiety grew stronger over time, though causality is unknown.

“The relationship between time spent on social media and symptoms of depressed mood and physical symptoms of anxiety grew stronger over time, although it is not known if this relationship is causal.”

May combine two claims.

Average social media use was measured with a single question, and different platforms or types of use were not measured.

“First, we used a single question to examine average social media use and did not include measures on different platforms or different types of social media use, such as active or passive use, which along with time spent on social media, has been shown to be significantly associated with increased psychological distress (Thorisdottir et al. 2019).”

• cites Thorisdottir et al. 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The nature of the relationship between social media use and psychological distress is not clear.

“However, the nature of the relationship between social media use and psychological distress is not clear.”