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Social Psychology and Interaction Commons

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Parkview Health

Mental health

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Full-Text Articles in Social Psychology and Interaction

College Students In Distress: Can Social Media Be A Source Of Social Support?, Lauren Reining, Michelle Drouin, Tammy Toscos, Michael J. Mirro May 2018

College Students In Distress: Can Social Media Be A Source Of Social Support?, Lauren Reining, Michelle Drouin, Tammy Toscos, Michael J. Mirro

Presentations and Events

Objective: Our goal was to examine undergraduates’ social support

sources, including social media (SM) sources and their preferences for SM features (i.e., anonymity and similar-peer communities).

Participants: Participants were 662 undergraduates (438 women) from two midwestern colleges who completed an online survey in Spring 2017.

Methods: Students completed a demographic survey and depression/anxiety screener. They also indicated whether they turned to different people and SM resources when in distress.

Results: Those with high depression were less likely to identify parents and mental health professionals as sources of support. Those with high depression/anxiety were more likely to identify SM as a …