Mediating role of positivity in the relationship between state anxiety and problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Association between problematic social networking use and anxiety symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

A growing number of studies have reported that problematic social networking use (PSNU) is strongly associated with anxiety symptoms. However, due to the presence of multiple anxiety subtypes, existing research findings on the extent of this association vary widely, leading to a lack of consensus. The current meta-analysis aimed to summarize studies exploring the relationship between PSNU levels and anxiety symptoms, including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, attachment anxiety, and fear of missing out. 209 studies with a total of 172 articles were included in the meta-analysis, involving 252,337 participants from 28 countries. The results showed a moderately positive association between PSNU and generalized anxiety (GA), social anxiety (SA), attachment anxiety (AA), and fear of missing out (FoMO) respectively (GA: r = 0.388, 95% CI [0.362, 0.413]; SA: r = 0.437, 95% CI [0.395, 0.478]; AA: r = 0.345, 95% CI [0.286, 0.402]; FoMO: r = 0.496, 95% CI [0.461, 0.529]), and there were different regulatory factors between PSNU and different anxiety subtypes. This study provides the first comprehensive estimate of the association of PSNU with multiple anxiety subtypes, which vary by time of measurement, region, gender, and measurement tool.

The Relationship of COVID-19 Student Stress with School Burnout, Depression and Subjective Well-Being: Adaptation of the COVID-19 Student Stress Scale into Turkish

COVID-19 has caused psychological problems in all age groups since it emerged from the first day. One of the most important groups has been affected negatively during the COVID-19 pandemic process are university students. One of the negative situations caused by the pandemic process in university students is student stress caused by COVID-19. To assess stress situations in Italian culture, the COVID-19 student stress scale (CSS-S) has been developed. In this context, the aim of this study was to adapt the CSS-S into Turkish. Another aim of the study was to investigate the direct and indirect relationships of COVID-19 student stress with school burnout, depression and subjective well-being. The participants of the study were 485 Turkish university students. The values obtained with the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor structure of CSS-S is satisfying (χ²/df = 2.99, AGFI = .95, TLI = .93, CFI = .96, IFI = .96, REMSEA = .06, SRMR = .04). Moreover, it was found that school burnout has a mediating role in the relationship between COVID-19 student stress and depression and subjective well-being (χstructure of CSS-S is satisfying/df = 2.41, AGFI = .87, TLI = .91, CFI = .91, IFI = .91, REMSEA = .05, SRMR = .05). These findings imply that psychosocial intervention studies to reduce COVID-19 student stress can reduce students' school burnout and depression. It also implies that these psychosocial intervention studies can have a positive impact on students' subjective well-being.

Problematic Use of Social Networks during the First Lockdown: User Profiles and the Protective Effect of Resilience and Optimism

During the first lockdown, there was an increase in time spent using Social Networking Sites (SNS), which should be studied, as well as problematic SNS use. The present study has three objectives: to evaluate (i) the differences across gender and age and SNS type in increased SNS use, (ii) problematic SNS use during lockdowns, and (iii) the protective role of resilience and optimism on problematic SNS use. A total of 1003 participants (75.5% women) over 18 years old participated (M = 42.33; SD = 14.32 years). The use of SNS before and during lockdown, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction and problematic SNS use were evaluated. A repeated measures ANOVA and four regression analyses were calculated for the first objective regarding increased SNS use. Another linear regression analysis was calculated for the second objective regarding problematic SNS use. A correlational analysis has been performed to assess the protective roles of resilience and optimism. Differences in the increased use of SNS were found between the two time points and between the different types of SNS. Higher use of Instagram and YouTube was related to younger age. Being female was associated with higher Instagram use. Significant problematic use was found to be associated with younger age but was not dependent on gender. Higher levels of resilience and optimism were related to a lower level of problematic SNS use. SNS use during lockdown needs to be studied in order to understand factors that may protect against undesirable psychological consequences and support prevention programs.