#KidsAnxiety and the Digital World

Development of the evaluating the screen exposure of adolescents (ESEA) scale: A validation and reliability study

PURPOSE

Adolescents today live in a world surrounded by electronic devices. They did not experience life before the internet and they are therefore called 'digital natives'. As a result of increased screen exposure among adolescents, many short-term and long-term health problems may occur. No measurement tool to date includes multidimensional variables of screen exposure other than the duration of the screen exposure. The aim of this study was to develop a scale that evaluates screen exposure within different dimensions and to confirm the reliability and validity of that scale.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This study was methodological. The research was completed with 347 adolescents. A personal information form and the Evaluating the Screen Exposure of Adolescents (ESEA) scale were used for data collection. IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0 and IBM AMOS 24.0 software programs were used for data analysis, and descriptive statistics were used to analyse numerical variables. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the factorial structure of the scale.

RESULTS

The scale was finalised with a total of 23 items within five factors, which are willingness/desire for screen exposure, socialisation, family control, procrastination tendency, and effects of prolonged screen exposure. The factor loadings of the scale vary between 0.370 and 0.825. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach's alpha value) of the total scale was found to be 0.79.

CONCLUSION

The ESEA scale, which was psychometrically evaluated in this study, assesses the screen exposure of adolescents multidimensionally and provides consistent measurements.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurses working with adolescents, and especially pediatric nurses and public health nurses, can use this measurement tool to assess the screen exposure of adolescents in a multidimensional way. This scale supports better problem definition and effective interventions by nurses considering multidimensional screen exposure.

Social Media and Youth Mental Health

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We review recent evidence regarding the relationship between the social media (SM) habits, experiences, and the mental health of youth. We examine effects of social media use (SMU) on specific diagnoses including depression and anxiety. The relationship between psychiatric illness, specific SM experiences, and the issue of SM mental health contagion is also explored.

RECENT FINDINGS

Youth engagement in SMU has increased dramatically in recent years, concurrent with increases in prevalence of depression and anxiety. The relationship between SMU and mental illness is complex and depends on characteristics of the user (e.g., social comparison and fear of missing out (FOMO) and their SM habits and experiences (e.g., cyberbullying, and sexting,). SM engagement has distinct impacts on anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Growing evidence documents how SM may be a medium for psychiatric contagion. Research findings are largely correlational and dependent on subjective report, limiting their interpretation. The mental health of youth is increasingly tied to their SMU, depending greatly on how youth engage with SM and resultant feedback. Future research must look to establish causality in relationships between SM and mental illness.

Social Media and Anxiety in Youth: A Narrative Review and Clinical Update

Social media use and related research on psychiatric symptoms continue to increase and evolve rapidly. The potential bidirectional relationships and correlations between social media use and anxiety seem to be understudied. We examine prior research focused on social media use and anxiety disorders, and thus far, correlations have been weak. Nevertheless, these associations may be poorly understood but important. Fear of missing out has been considered a moderator in earlier research. We discuss the limitations of previous research, guidance for clinicians and caregivers, and challenges for future studies in this area.