Facebook's Contribution to Well-being among Adolescent and Young Adults as a Function of Mental Resilience
Keywords
adolescents
Facebook
mental resilience
social networks
well-being
Publication details
| Year: | 2015 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00223980.2015.1110556 |
| Issued: | 2015 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 150 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Start Page: | 527 |
| End Page: | 541 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Ziv I.; Kiasi M. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | The Journal of Psychology |
| Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
| Topics: | Wellbeing |
| Sample: | The sample comprised middle-class, urban adolescents and young adults who were working as youth group leaders in a community center in a town in the center of Israel. Two hundred participants (105 males, 95 females) volunteered to take part in the study without compensation. The participants ranged in age from 13 to 26 years, with a mean age of 17.27 years (SD= 2.42). All participants had been selected to work as youth group leaders on the basis of their ability to meet the requirements of the role |
Abstract
Studies of correlations between general internet use and psychological well-being have shown mixed results. The present study aimed to elucidate the relationship between Facebook use and psychological wellbeing, with mental resilience expected to moderate the relationship. Two hundred Israeli adolescents and young adults completed questionnaires assessing their Facebook use, mental resilience, and psychological well-being. Results showed that Facebook use was positively correlated with psychological well-being, and that this relationship was particularly strong for participants with low mental resilience. The findings support a positive effect of Facebook use as providing a virtual supportive community for individuals who may lack the social skills needed to develop social capital and confidence through traditional communication paths.
Outcome
Linear regression analysis yielded a significant positive correlation between Facebook use and well-being (Ziv, Kiasi, 2015). The analysis showed that Facebook use explains almost 20 percent of the variance of well-being. even though the frequency and duration measure has a significant correlation with well-being, it does not make a unique contribution over depth of engagement. as Facebook use increases, so does resilience. Facebook use explained 16% of the variance of resilience. It was found the greatest use of Facebook and the highest levels of well-being among participants who scored highest in mental resilience. the well-being of the medium-resilience participants overall was lower compared to the low-resilience group.