Full length articleThe stress-buffering effect of self-disclosure on Facebook: An examination of stressful life events, social support, and mental health among college students
Introduction
Studies have found that most lifetime mental disorders have first onset at the age of 18–24 (Kessler et al., 2005). Mental disorders have accounted for nearly half of the disease burden for young adults in the U.S. (Lozano et al., 2013). In 2015, the prevalence of major depression is 10.3% among U.S. adults aged 18 to 25, much higher than that in other age groups (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016). This problem is more salient in Asian countries. A large-scale survey in Hong Kong shows that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 21%, 41%, and 27% respectively among first-year university students (Wong, Cheung, Chan, Ma, & Wa Tang, 2006). Among a variety of risk factors, stressful life events have been documented as the leading cause of psychological distress (Watson & Pennebaker, 1989). Daily hassles, traumas, and other stressors can trigger acute physical and mental illness (Kendler et al., 1995). However, openly expressing one's problems and negative feelings could help to mitigate distress and improves mental health (Jourard, 1971, Perls, 1969). Self-disclosure can also elicit social support otherwise unavailable if others do not know about someone's difficulties (Derlega, Metts, Petronio, & Margulis, 1993). Because of its therapeutic function, self-disclosure has been labeled the “talking cure” (Corcoran, 2000).
As the Internet is becoming deeply woven into people's daily life, an increasing number of self-disclosures are taking place in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Social network sites (SNSs), such as Facebook and Twitter, enable individuals to share their stories and feelings instantaneously (Choi & Toma, 2014) and express their support-based needs to a wide variety of contacts (Vitak & Ellison, 2012). In recent years, studies have found that college students are likely to talk about their mental health problems on SNSs (Lewis et al., 2008, Moreno et al., 2011). In evaluating undergraduates' status updates on Facebook, Moreno et al. (2011) found that approximately 25% of the observed profiles displayed depressive symptoms and 2.5% met the criteria for a major depressive episode. While the therapeutic function of self-disclosure has been well documented in traditional studies (e.g., Corcoran, 2000, Jourard, 1971), less certain is whether it still holds in the context of SNSs. In particular, it remains unclear to what extent the public sharing of distress on Facebook contributes to one's psychological well-being.
Social support obtained from online and offline ties can also influence one's mental health. Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten (2006) found that time spent on Facebook had an indirect effect on adolescents' self-esteem and well-being, depending on the feedback received from their friends. Similarly, Park et al. (2015) demonstrated that failing to get responses such as “likes” and “comments” from Facebook friends can exacerbate users' depression (Park et al., 2015). Therefore, it is important to examine to what extent self-disclosure on Facebook contribute to one's social support and whether social support helps to improve mental health.
Given these limitations in the existing literature, this study proposes a conceptual model to examine the relationship between self-disclosure on SNSs and mental health, marrying the antecedents of SNS disclosures with their outcomes. The first objective of this study is to examine how stressful life events facilitate self-disclosure on SNSs and whether the stress-buffering effect of self-disclosure still holds in the context of SNSs. Since self-disclosure is a multifaceted construct (Wheeless & Grotz, 1976), the different roles of varying disclosure attributes in affecting mental health are taken into consideration. This study also explores the extent to which self-disclosure on Facebook contributes to social support, which in turn influences levels of depression and life satisfaction. Last but not least, the present study delineates the prevalence of depression among university students in Hong Kong and uncovers their sources of stress, thereby providing a context-rich understanding of the implications of SNSs in Chinese societies.
Section snippets
Mental health and stressful life events
Studies have documented stressful life events as a trigger of acute mental illness such as major depression and anxiety disorders (Brown and Harris, 1978, Costello, 1982, Kendler et al., 1995). Stressful life events refer to the socially undesired events “whose advent is either indicative of, or requires a significant change in, the ongoing life pattern of the individual” (Holmes & Masuda, 1974, p. 36). Stressful life events can be related to health, social relations, and environments, such as
Sample and sampling procedure
This study employed paper-based survey for data collection. Using stratified sampling method, the researcher first chose one university from eight universities in Hong Kong and then randomly selected 10 departments. Within each department, two or three middle-sized or big classes with more than 50 students were randomly selected, totaling 17 classes. Prior approvals were sought from course instructors, and alternative courses were used if the instructors refused to participate. Pilot tests of
Results
In our sample, 97.7% of the undergraduate students were Facebook users. As the focal point of this study is self-disclosure on Facebook, the remainder of our analyses was based only on data from Facebook members (N = 560). To answer RQ1, the prevalence of depression among college students in Hong Kong was delineated. PHQ-9 score of 5, 10, and 15 represents the cutoff point of mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. As shown in Table 3, 22.1% of the respondents had total
Discussion and conclusion
This study proposed a conceptual model linking the antecedents of self-disclosure on SNSs with its outcomes. Stressful life events were found to facilitate self-disclosure on Facebook, in particular intimate and intentional disclosures. Opening up on Facebook protected people from the slings and arrows of stressful life events and helped people mobilize social support. This study extended the stress-buffering effects of self-disclosure from offline to online settings and presented a
Limitations and suggestions for future research
Despite its contributions and implications, this study has several limitations. First, given the cross-sectional nature of this research, it is impossible to establish causal relationships between the key variables. Depression and life satisfaction are regarde d as dependent variables in this study. However, previous studies have suggested that the opposite might be true – people who are depressed and have low life satisfaction are more likely to self-disclose on Facebook (Ellison et al., 2007
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The author is grateful to Louis Leung, Lo-Ven Hwei, Michael Chan, Barry Wellman, and Ziwei Liu for their support and insights.
References (98)
- et al.
Social sharing through interpersonal media: Patterns and effects on emotional well-being
Computers in Human Behavior
(2014) Measuring psychological resources
- et al.
Lying or longing for likes? Narcissism, peer belonging, loneliness and normative versus deceptive like-seeking on Instagram in emerging adulthood
Computers in Human Behavior
(2017) - et al.
The social readjustment rating scale
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
(1967) - et al.
What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook? The implications of Facebook interaction for perceived, receiving, and giving social support
Computers in Human Behavior
(2015) - et al.
Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010
Lancet
(2013) - et al.
The MOS social support survey
Social Science & Medicine
(1991) - et al.
Depression in college: Depressive symptoms and personality factors in Beijing and Hong Kong college freshmen
Comprehensive Psychiatry
(2008) - et al.
Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
(2008) - et al.
Modeling the psychological determinants of life quality
Social Indicators Research
(1985)
Factors associated with PTSD symptoms following treatment for breast cancer: Test of the Andersen model
Journal of Traumatic Stress
Coping strategies, self-perceptions, hopelessness, and perceived family environments in depressed and suicidal children
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models
American Journal of Community Psychology
Do internet-based support interventions change perceptions of social support?: An experimental trial of approaches for supporting diabetes self-management
American Journal of Community Psychology
Self-disclosure in social Media: Extending the functional approach to disclosure motivations and characteristics on social network sites
Journal of Communication
Social sharing of emotions on Facebook: Channel differences, satisfaction, and replies
Psychological distress and emotional expression on Facebook
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Is it weird to still Be a Virgin: Anonymous, locally targeted questions on facebook confession boards
Social origins of depression: A reply
Psychological Medicine
Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2015 national survey on drug use and health
Ruminative and catastrophizing cognitive styles mediate the association between daily hassles and high anxiety in Hong Kong adolescents
Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Managing stigma: Disclosure-response communication patterns in pro-anorexic websites
Health Communication
Sharing, liking, commenting, and distressed? The pathway between Facebook interaction and psychological distress
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Depression hits half of Hong Kong secondary pupils and a quarter have considered suicide, study finds
Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
The dilemma of distress disclosure
Reactions to victims
New Approaches to Social Problems
Life stress and adjustment: Effects of life events experienced by young adolescents and their parents
Developmental Psychology
Social support, stress and the buffering hypothesis: A theoretical analysis
Handbook of Psychology and Health
Therapeutic self-disclosure: “The talking cure” and “silence”
Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: Happy and unhappy people
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Social factors associated with depression: A retrospective community study
Psychological Medicine
Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching
Sage series on close relationships: Self-disclosure
Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index
American Psychologist
Measuring quality of life: Economic, social, and subjective indicators
Social Indicators Research
Recent findings on subjective well-being
Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology
Resilience in adolescents: Protective role of social support, coping strategies, self-esteem, and social activities on experience of stress and depression
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Responses to positive affect: A self-report measure of rumination and dampening
Cognitive Therapy and Research
When social networking is not working individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosure on Facebook
Psychological Science
Adolescent self-disclosure and loneliness: Private self-consciousness and parental influences
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
“Extra-class” communication: Frequency, immediacy, self-disclosure, and satisfaction in student-faculty interaction outside the classroom
Journal of Applied Communication Research
Self-presentation in online personals the role of anticipated future interaction, self-disclosure, and perceived success in Internet dating
Communication Research
Screening for depression in medical settings with the patient health questionnaire (PHQ): A diagnostic meta-analysis
Journal of General Internal Medicine
The presentation of self in everyday life
Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity
Who wants to know?: question-asking and answering practices among facebook users
The relationship between self-reported received and perceived social support: A meta-analytic review
American Journal of Community Psychology
Cited by (195)
Using an extended technology acceptance model to investigate facial authentication
2023, Telematics and Informatics ReportsActive and passive behavior in social media: Validating the Social Media Activity Questionnaire (SMAQ)
2023, Telematics and Informatics Reports