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Understanding the Effect of Social Media Use on Psychological Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examines the effect of the modern technology of social media on psychological stress during Irish COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. Literature indicates mixed findings regarding social media usage and psychological stress. Acknowledging its multifaceted nature, social media use in this study is examined through the category usage motivators of consuming, participating, and producing. Usage motivators significantly indicate variations in terms of impact on stress. Social media use for the purpose of consuming is moderately correlated with increased levels of psychological stress. Social media use for the purpose of participating exhibits a weak correlation with decreasing levels of psychological stress. Social media use for the purpose of producing exhibits no significant relationship with psychological stress during quarantine. Findings of this study are valuable for government and corporate policy makers and mental health and marketing professionals, with implications in psychological wellbeing practices and mindful social media use during quarantine.

A Mixed Methods Investigation of Unmet Needs And Psychological Wellbeing During Active Surveillance For Prostate Cancer

Purpose: While prostate cancer survivors experience unmet supportive care needs (USCNs) after definitive treatments, no study has measured USCNs during active surveillance (AS). This mixed-methods study aimed to identify and explore the USCNs and psychological wellbeing of AS patients.Methods: Patients 18+ years diagnosed with prostate cancer, who had been on AS for ≥6 months, were invited to complete a survey measuring USCNs, general and prostate cancer specific anxiety, and depression. A purposefully selected subset was also interviewed to explore USCNs and how needs during AS were addressed. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results: One hundred and three participants (n=47 currently on AS, n=54 on/had subsequent treatment, n=2 ceased all care) completed the survey, and 33 were also interviewed. Although most USCNs were considered low/moderate, 20% of participants reported high unmet informational needs around receiving information about monitoring and their test results. USCNs related to patient care (e.g., access to services in rural areas or after hours) and sexuality were also discussed in interviews. Anxiety, depression, and prostate cancer specific anxiety were generally very low. Fear of cancer progression/recurrence was the highest scoring prostate cancer specific worry and was frequently mentioned by interview participants.Conclusions: While unmet needs, anxiety and depression were generally low, one in five patients during AS experience unmet needs in psychological, physical, patient care, information, and sexual domains. Health professionals should be aware of common USCNs and offer appropriate support to address potential needs.

Researching the Links between Smartphone Behavior and Adolescent Wellbeing: The Study Protocol for the FUTURE (WP4) Ecological Momentary Assessment Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Smartphone ownership has increased among teens within the last decade, with up to 89% of adolescents owning a smartphone and through it engaging daily with the online world. Although the results of recent meta-analyses suggest that engaging digital technology plays only a small role in adolescent wellbeing, parents, professionals, and policy makers remain concerned about the impact that the instant connectivity of smartphones has on adolescent wellbeing. OBJECTIVE Herein, we introduce the protocol of a research study investigating the associations between adolescent smartphone use and different facets of well-being (social, physical, psychological) that aims to apply innovative methods to address limitations of existing empirical studies. METHODS This 12-month prospective study of adolescents uses a repeated measurement-burst design with Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methodology. Adolescents (N=203; age range 13-17) complete baseline assessments through online questionnaires, four 14-day intensive data collection bursts, and an online questionnaire at the end of the study. As part of the four measurement bursts, adolescent smartphone behavior is assessed objectively by passive data collection of smartphone data logs and through self-reports in short questionnaires administered via a custom-built Android app. RESULTS The protocol describes the study objectives, research tools (including the development of the Android app and specialized software) and process (including pilot studies the main study, and targets for machine learning approaches). The design of the study will allow for the assessment of both within- and between-person variability in smartphone behavior, as well as short-term variation and long-term change in smartphone behavior and how it impacts indicators of social, physical, and psychological wellbeing. Preliminary analyses of the data from the first data collection burst of the main study indicate acceptable level of compliance (72.25%) with the daily questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS The innovative methods applied in this study (objective smartphone logs, EMA, machine learning) will allow for a more nuanced assessment of the links between smartphone use and wellbeing, informing strategies to help adolescents navigate the online world more constructively in terms of the development of their physical, social and psychological wellbeing.

A Systematic Review of Caregiver Coping Strategies in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia

Caregivers of patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) often experience distressing symptoms related to their caregiving role. This review evaluates the existing literature on coping and their relationship to ALS and FTD caregiver psychological wellbeing. Published articles were identified via a systematic search of four databases (Cinahl Complete, Medline, Embase and PsycINFO). Overall, problem-focused coping strategies such as active coping and planning was used most often by ALS and FTD caregivers. Positive emotion-focused coping strategies such as acceptance were also frequently used by FTD caregivers. In contrast, dysfunctional coping strategies such as self-oriented reactions including self-blame, denial and self-preoccupation appeared to be the most salient coping strategy negatively impacting on caregiver psychological wellbeing. Six different coping measures were used and their psychometric properties were typically under-reported or satisfactory at best when reported. While coping is as an important aspect of caregivers’ experience, it remains unclear how the temporal dimensions of the coping process as well as stressor specificity influences psychological adaptation, and consequently, development of targeted caregiver intervention. The need for future studies to define the coping process more clearly in order to capture the unique stressors encountered by ALS and FTD caregivers throughout the different disease stages is emphasised.

A Mediation Analysis of Spirituality: Wellbeing and Academic Performance in first-Generation and Low-income College Students

Mental health and attainment gaps comprise crises on university campuses, especially for first-generation and low-income students. Despite the heritage of spirituality and religious foundations of America’s colleges, current norms have rendered candid discussions of spirituality to be mostly nonexistent. Despite literature linking spirituality with psychological wellbeing, known is little as to what relationship spirituality has with psychological wellbeing and academic performance, particularly among first-generation and low-income students. This study uses a cross-sectional survey design and occurred a public, regional, Midwestern institution. Quantitative analysis found a relationship between psychological wellbeing and academic performance in specific circumstances, and an indirect effect between spirituality and academic performance in the presence of psychological wellbeing. These data presents implications for practitioners.

Racialized Sexual Discrimination (RSD) and Psychological Wellbeing among Young Sexual Minority Black Men (YSMBM) Who Seek Intimate Partners Online

Introduction Online dating is widespread among young adults, and particularly young sexual minority men. Racialized sexual discrimination (RSD), also known as “sexual racism,” is frequently reported to occur within these digital spaces and may negatively impact the psychological wellbeing of young sexual minority Black men (YSMBM). However, the association between RSD and psychological wellbeing is not well understood. Methods Using data (collected between July 2017–January 2018) from a cross-sectional web-survey of YSMBM (N = 603), six multivariable regression models were estimated to examine the association between five RSD subscales and depressive symptoms and feelings of self-worth. RSD subscales were derived from the first preliminarily validated scale of sexual racism. Results Analyses revealed that White superiority (β = .10, p < .01), same-race rejection (β = .16, p < .001), and White physical objectification (β = .14, p < .01) were all significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms, and White physical objectification (β = -.11, p < .01) was significantly associated with lower feelings of self-worth. Conclusions This study is among the first to examine the relationship between multiple, distinct manifestations of RSD and depressive symptoms and self-worth using quantitative analyses and provides evidence that RSD is negatively associated with psychological wellbeing. Policy Implications Site administrators should institute robust anti-racism policies on their platforms and hold users accountable for discriminatory behavior. Activists may also consider forming coalitions and/or developing campaigns to bring about greater awareness of RSD, in an effort to influence site administrators to enact policy change.