Online dating and psychological wellbeing: A social compensation perspective

Loneliness and Mode of Social Contact in Late Life

OBJECTIVES

Social contact may alleviate loneliness, but little is known about within-person daily fluctuations in loneliness and social encounters. Older adults who feel lonely may engage in different modes of social contact (in-person, phone, digital). This study asked how different forms of contact are associated with loneliness throughout the day.

METHODS

Participants were 313 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65-90). They completed ecological momentary assessments reporting on their social encounters (e.g., type of social partner, mode of contact) and their loneliness every 3 hr for 5-6 days. We differentiated close social ties from ties not identified as close (i.e., weak ties).

RESULTS

We examined within-person effects using multilevel models. Findings revealed that momentary loneliness predicted a greater likelihood of phone contact in the next 3 hr. However, only in-person contact was associated with lower levels of loneliness. Regarding close and weak ties, momentary loneliness was associated with more in-person and phone contact with close ties, yet fewer in-person contacts with weak ties. In-person contact with both close and weak ties predicted lower levels of loneliness.

DISCUSSION

Although older adults engage in both in-person and phone contact when they feel lonely, it appears that only in-person contact may reduce loneliness. Digital contact was not widely adopted as a response to momentary loneliness among these older adults. Findings underscore older adults' willingness to maintain regular contact with close ties. Interventions addressing older adults who are lonely may consider innovative approaches to increase in-person contact.

The influence of physical activity on internet addiction among Chinese college students: the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of gender

OBJECTIVES

The significance of self-esteem in the relationship between physical activity and Internet addiction among college students cannot be over, as it lays a solid foundation for the prevention and control of Internet addiction.

METHODS

A total of 950 college students were surveyed using the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), and Chinese Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS-R) through a cluster random sampling method. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, partial correlation analysis, mediation effect, moderation effect, and Bootstrap testing were conducted on the collected data to analyze and interpret the results.

RESULTS

(1) Significant gender differences were found in the amount of physical activity and the degree of Internet addiction among college students(P&& lt;0.001); (2) Physical activity was significantly and positively correlated with self-esteem (r = 0.26, P < 0.001), but significantly and negatively correlated with Internet addiction (r=-0.23, P < 0.001); Meanwhile, self-esteem and Internet addiction were significantly and negatively related to self-esteem (r=-0.22, P < 0.001). (3) Mediating effect analyses showed that self-esteem played a partial mediating role in physical activity and Internet addiction among college students, accounting for a portion of 78.95%. (4) A moderating effect of gender on the relationship between physical activity and Internet addiction was discovered.

CONCLUSION

The physical activity level of male students is significantly higher than that of female students, while the degree of internet addiction among female students is notably higher than that of male students. Physical activity can not only directly improve the issue of internet addiction among college students, but also indirectly improve it through self-esteem, with gender playing a moderating role in this process. This conclusion has practical reference significance for preventing and controlling internet addiction among college students, and provides evidence support for using physical activity as a reference solution in clinical applications. Additionally, it suggests that gender should be taken into account when preventing and intervening in internet addiction among college students, and different strategies and methods should be adopted for male and female students. Male students should be encouraged to participate more in physical activities, gradually increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of their participation, in order to divert their attention and enhance their sense of achievement in sports, thereby reducing their use of mobile phones. For female students, on the other hand, it is important to strengthen real-life communication, change the form of sports participation, engage in group, collaborative, and different situational sports activities, and enhance their focus and attention in sports, in order to reduce their internet dependency, better guide them to use the internet reasonably, and enable them to achieve emotional release through sports.

Does Facebook Use Provide Social Benefits to Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury?

Drawing on the social compensation hypothesis, this study investigates whether Facebook use facilitates social connectedness for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), a common and debilitating medical condition that often results in social isolation. In a survey (N = 104 participants; n = 53 with TBI, n = 51 without TBI), individuals with TBI reported greater preference for self-disclosure on Facebook (vs. face-to-face) compared to noninjured individuals. For noninjured participants, a preference for Facebook self-disclosure was associated with the enactment of relational maintenance behaviors on Facebook, which was then associated with greater closeness with Facebook friends. However, no such benefits emerged for individuals with TBI, whose preference for Facebook self-disclosure was not associated with relationship maintenance behaviors on Facebook, and did not lead to greater closeness with Facebook friends. These findings show that the social compensation hypothesis has partial utility in the novel context of TBI, and suggest the need for developing technological supports to assist this vulnerable population on social media platforms.

Attachment insecurity and breadcrumbing engagement in young adults: a cross-sectional, cross-country study in India and Spain

BACKGROUND

Breadcrumbing, defined as the act of sending out flirtatious, but non-committal text messages to lure a sexual/romantic partner without expending much effort, has gained attention in popular culture and the media due to its relevance to contemporary dating dynamics. However, there is lack of evidence of the association between attachment insecurity and breadcrumbing This study aims to uncover the potential relationship between breadcrumbing engagement and attachment insecurity among Indian and Spanish young adults.

METHODS

Data were collected through an anonymous online survey answered by 334 adults in India and by 348 adults in Spain aged between 18 and 40 years old. A linear regression model in both countries was run to examine breadcrumbing engagement and its relationship with the set of sociodemographic variables included in the study (participants' age and sex, sexual orientation, relationship status and educational level) and the two dimensions of attachment insecurity (anxious and avoidant).

RESULTS

The results showed that insecure attachment, both anxious and avoidant, were associated with engaging in breadcrumbing in both the countries. However, there was a stronger association between anxious attachment and breadcrumbing in India compared to Spain, where the association was stronger between avoidant attachment and breadcrumbing.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study offer insight into an under-studied practice in the context of interpersonal relationships (i.e., breadcrumbing behaviour) and show the importance of attachment theoretical framework to hypothesize and analyse expectations regarding strategies to negotiate intimate relationships and the breadcrumbing experience particularly.

Development of inferiority-compensation scale among high school students

An increasing number of high school students are inflicted by different degrees of mental disorders in learning, such as moodiness, learning difficulties, test anxiety, difficulty coping with frustration, etc., which are one of the factors leading to the inferiority of students. In the present study, the initial scale of inferiority compensation for high school students was developed through literature searching, expert evaluation, interviews, and an open scale. 1187 high school students were tested in different periods, after deleting an invalid 83 scales, including 461 copies of valid scale of exploratory factor analysis in the first stage and 643 copies of valid scale of confirmatory factor analysis in the second stage. The results showed that the inferiority compensation scale for high school students consisted of two sub-scale: self-compensation and others-compensation, ach two were composed of five dimensions including academic performance, physical fitness, social communication, appearance, and self-esteem. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the total scale and the two sub-scale all had good structural validity (RMSEA≤0.08; CFI&IFI ≥ 0.9), and the combined reliability and values (such as the correlation coefficient of each dimension) of the two sub-scale were within the ideal range. With good reliability and validity (Cronbacα&KMO ≥ 0.90), and meeting the requirements of psychometrics, the scale can be used in the relevant research and practice of inferiority compensation for high school students.

International students’ psychosocial well-being and social media use at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: A latent profile analysis

This study examined the link between the psychosocial well-being and social media use of international students in the US at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when social isolation was mandated. Unlike prior research, which has typically focused on a single aspect of psychosocial well-being, we conceptualized international students' well-being as a multidimensional construct including internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, loneliness) as well as markers of intercultural difficulties. We then investigated social media use as a function of international students’ idiosyncratic well-being vulnerabilities. A latent profile analysis revealed four groups with distinctive psychosocial profiles: well-adjusted students, interculturally adjusted students with internalizing symptoms, students with low internalizing symptoms but high intercultural difficulties, and maladjusted students with high internalizing symptoms and high intercultural difficulties. Supporting the social compensation perspective, maladjusted international students reported the highest engagement with social media compared to the other groups. These findings shed light on the unique and heterogenous experiences of international students at the onset of the pandemic. They also add nuance to the social compensation hypothesis by delineating person-specific associations between psychosocial well-being and social media use.

Rich Get Richer: Extraversion Statistically Predicts Reduced Internet Addiction through Less Online Anonymity Preference and Extraversion Compensation

Internet addiction may arise from multiple factors and personality tendencies have been previously implicated. Prior studies have found that extraversion may be a protective factor mitigating against internet addiction, yielding a "rich-get-richer" effect. However, few studies have explored how extraversion may influence internet addiction from the perspective of online-offline integration. Drawing on a sample of 428 college students, the current study examined a serial mediation model exploring the underlying mechanisms of how extraversion may statistically predict internet addiction through online-offline integration and antecedent factors. The serial mediation model analyses indicated that extraverted internet users exhibited a weaker preference for online anonymity and less online extraversion compensation, thus formulating a higher level of online-offline integration than introverted individuals, which, in turn, appeared to reduce the risk of internet addiction. In contrast, with regard to specific components of online-offline integration, introverted internet users preferred online anonymity, which reduced their relationship integration and increased their likelihood of internet addiction; similarly, the introverted individuals were also more likely to exhibit an extraversion compensation effect. That is, they were more extraverted on the internet than in general; hence, they had a lower level of self-identity integration, resulting in a greater likelihood of experiencing internet addiction. These results highlight the importance of online-offline integration that may account for personality variations in social and psychological outcomes related to internet use, and suggest a role for online anonymity preference and extraversion compensation in influencing specific components of integration.