Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2024
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
BreAnne A Danzi
Abstract
Social support is a fundamental aspect of development throughout adolescence. It has been found to buffer against the negative impacts of stress and provide general benefits to one’s well-being. Youth today are exposed to a range of opportunities for socialization with peers, both in-person and online, including interacting with others through texting, social media, video games, and other digital means. These online interactions have begun to be investigated as accessible methods through which adolescents can connect with others and maintain healthy relationships. Furthermore, digital social networks may be most critical for youth from isolated communities, including those from rural areas. With this study we investigated the relationship between social media use frequency and perceptions of online social support among high school students. Additionally, we compared differential social media use and online social support between youth from rural and urban communities. Finally, we examined whether online social support was associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and whether the strength of this relationship was moderated by community type (rural versus urban). Participants were 275 students from seven local high schools who provided information on their social media use, perceptions of online support, and mental health. Among all youth, social media use was found to have a positive association with perceptions of online social support. Additionally, rural youth were found to report greater social media use and online social support compared to urban youth. However, community type did not influence the association between perceived online social support and depression or anxiety. These findings may indicate that while rural youth appear to engage more with others online and reap greater social benefits from their online interactions, the benefits do not outweigh the underlying mechanisms that perpetuate symptoms of depression and anxiety. These findings provide important insights into how social media and online interactions serve as a means of social support for youth, especially for those from vulnerable populations, such as rural youth. Future research should continue to investigate how social media can be harnessed to mitigate distress in youth who use it frequently, particularly adolescents from isolated communities.
Subject Categories
Clinical Psychology
Keywords
social support, digital social networks, youth, stress, depression, anxiety
Number of Pages
100
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Alexandra Knowles, Ellen, "ONLINE PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN RURAL AND URBAN YOUTH" (2024). Dissertations and Theses. 253.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/253