Social media use in adolescent girls with depression: The relationship between social media use purposes, lack of social support, and cyber victimization

Year 2024, Volume: 37 Issue: 1, 29 - 36, 28.01.2024

Muhsine Göksu , Ayşe Rodopman Arman , Ümmügülsüm Gündoğdu , Funda Gümüştaş

https://doi.org/10.5472/marumj.1379988

Abstract

Objective: Our study examined the relationship between purpose of social media use, perceived social support, and cyberbullying
among adolescent girls with or without major depressive disorder (MDD).
Patients and Methods: Fifty-two adolescent girls aged 13-18 years with a diagnosis of MDD were recruited. The control group consisted
of 51 adolescents who were matched for age and gender. The adolescents completed a sociodemographic form, the Childhood
Depression Inventory (CDI), the Social Media Attitude Scale (SMAS), the Cyberbullying Scale (CBS), and the Social Support Appraisal
Scale for Children (SSAS).
Results: Social media use was significantly higher among adolescent girls with MDD (P<0.001). They had significantly higher social
isolation (P=0.006) and cyberbullying scores (P=0.013). They used more social media for social skills (P<0.001) and their perceptions
of social support levels were lower than adolescents without MDD (P<0.001). Cyberbullying was inversely related to perceived social
support (P=0.015) and positively related to social media use for social competence (P=0.004) (e.g., satisfying the need for esteem).
Conclusion: This study suggests that increases in social competence problems and decreases in perceived social support were associated
with being a victim of cyberbullying. In depressed adolescents, cyberbullying can be prevented by interventions aimed at promoting
social competence and obtaining sufficient support.

Keywords

Cyber victimization, Adolescents, Depression, Social media

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