Stress-Buffering Effects of Coping Strategies and Social Supports on Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Panel Study of the Antecedents of Problematic Social Media Use = 應對策略及社會支援的中介作用: 一項與社交媒體「問題使用」成因的縱向研究

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Project title
Stress-Buffering Effects of Coping Strategies and Social Supports on Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Panel Study of the Antecedents of Problematic Social Media Use = 應對策略及社會支援的中介作用: 一項與社交媒體「問題使用」成因的縱向研究
 
Principal Investigator
 
Department
 
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
 
Grant Type
Faculty Development Scheme
 
Project Code
UGC/FDS15/H13/20
 
Amount awarded
HK$876,003
 
Funding Year
2020-2021
 
Duration of the Project
24 months
 
Status
Ongoing
 
Abstract
Social media are a necessity in modern life. According to a recent Pew study (2018), over 80% of teenagers and post-Millennials said that social media made them feel more connected, built stronger friendships, provided emotional support, and exposed them to a more diverse world. However, previous research suggested that the excessive and compulsive engagement with FDS1 (Nov 2019) 12 social media and their users’ perceived need to be constantly connected to social media are considered problematic (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Moreover, recent research showed a potential association between problematic social media use and psychiatric disorders (Hussain & Griffiths, 2018). Although there are high levels of public, scholarly, and clinical interest in the relationship between mental health and the use of digital media, there are three major shortcomings in the existing research on problematic social media use: 1) the amount of time spent on social media as an indicator of the problematic use of social media; 2) the focus on individual attributes as antecedents, whereas external factors are overlooked; and (3) few causal mechanisms in examining how the use of social media might affect psychological distress (PD). Hence, the variables of usage and frequency may have failed to capture the nuances of specific social media engagements. In addition, there is little knowledge about which specific social media engagements are associated with PD, emotional problems, and a range of other non-specific declines in mental health...