Peer Quality and Inappropriate Photos on Facebook and MySpace Predict Changes in Young Adults

1
Peer Quality and Inappropriate Photos on Facebook
and MySpacePredict Changes in Young Adults
Psychopathology
David E. Szwedo, Amori Yee Mikami, Meredyth
Evans, Mary K. Higgins, Anne Dawson, Joseph P.
Allen University of Virginia
David E. Szwedo dszwedo_at_virginia.edu
This study was made possible by funding from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal
Investigator (Grant 9R01HD058305-11A1)
Copies available online at www.teenresearch.org
Introduction
Number of Online Friends (Teen Age 21) The
total number of individuals in participants
friendship networks was recorded from their
Facebook or MySpace page (ICC .99). Number of
Connection Comments (Teen Age 21) Coders
recorded the number of comments from the 20 most
recent wall posts on participants pages
indicating a personal connection. Indications of
connection included talk about past/future
meetings, mutual friends, or shared information
(ICC .80). Number of Supportive Comments
(Teen Age 21) Supportive comments were recorded
from the 20 most recent wall posts on
participants pages. Indicators included comments
reflecting caring, encouragement, or validation.
(ICC .98). Inappropriate Photos (Teen Age
21) Participants photos were coded for the
absence vs. presence of at least one picture
indicative of deviant behavior. Examples include
explicit alcohol use (shots, keg stand, etc.),
provocative dress or gestures, or vandalism
(Kappa .59).
Gender
Family Income
Social Acceptance (21)
Social Withdrawal (21)

• Use of social-networking websites is associated
  with the formation of new
• relationships (Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten,
  2006)
• Individuals with extreme low and high numbers of
  Facebook friends are
• perceived as less socially attractive (Tom
  Tong, Van Der Heide, Langwell, 2008)
• - Perception of receiving positive messages from
  others on social-networking
• websites is associated with positive social
  self-esteem (Valkenburg, Peter, Schouten, 2006)
• Time spent emailing and instant messaging
  predicts lower depression scores
• (Morgan Cotten, 2003)
• Evidence suggests identity claims made on
  personal websites convey valid
• information about personality (Vazire
  Gosling, 2004)
• Hypotheses
• 1. Greater number of Facebook/MySpace friends
  will predict decreased

Number of Online Friends (21)
.30
.27
Number of Connection Comments (21)
Social Withdrawal (22)
Number of Supportive Comments (21)
-.31
Results
Figure 3. Hierarchical regression paths from
markers of social acceptance and online social
behavior to peer-rated social withdrawal at age
22. Covariates include gender, family income, and
peer-rated social withdrawal at age 21.
Coefficients represent standardized betas at
entry to the model (covariates entered first and
remaining variables entered from top to bottom).
Note. N64 Teen Age in parentheses
p .05, p
.01, p .001
Gender
Family Income
Social Acceptance (21)
Anxious/ Depressive Symptoms (21)
Number of Online Friends (21)
Method
-.24
.76
Participants Full sample from larger study N
184 Gender Race/ethnicity
Income 85 males
107 Caucasian Median
40,000 - 59,000 99 females 53
African American
24 Mixed/Other Online sub-sample (present
study) N 64 Gender
Race/ethnicity Income 26 males
43 Caucasian
Median 40,000 - 59,000 38 females
14 African American
7 Mixed/Other Measures Anxious/Depress
ive Symptoms (Teen Ages 21-22) Assessed using
the 18-item anxious/depressed subscale from the
Adult Self Report. Higher scores indicate greater
problem severity. Sample item I feel lonely (a
.93 .91). Social Withdrawal (Teen Ages
21-22) Assessed by a close peer using the 9-item
withdrawal scale from the Child Behavior
Checklist. Higher scores indicate greater problem
severity. Sample items Would rather be alone
than with others and Has trouble making or
keeping friends (a .67 .60). Problematic
Alcohol Use (Teen Ages 21-22) Assessed with a
6-item subscale from the Alcohol and Drug
Questionnaire. Sample items During the past 30
days, how many times did you drink so much
alcohol that you were really drunk During the
past 30 days, how many times did you have a
hang-over, feel sick, get into trouble with your
family or friends, miss school or work, or get
into fights as a result of drinking alcohol? (a
.89 .89). Social Acceptance (Teen Age 21)
Perceived social acceptance was assessed using
the 4-item social acceptance subscale from the
Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Sample
item Some people find its pretty easy to make
friends (a .80).
Number of Connection Comments (21)
Anxious/ Depressive Symptoms (22)
Number of Supportive Comments (21)
.23
Online Friends X Social Acceptance
Figure 1. Hierarchical regression paths from
markers of social acceptance and online social
behavior to anxious/depressive symptoms at age
22. Covariates include gender, family income, and
anxious/depressive symptoms at age 21.
Coefficients represent standardized betas at
entry to the model (covariates entered first and
remaining variables entered from top to bottom).
Note. N64 Teen Age in parentheses
p .05, p .01, p
.001
Figure 4. Results of a hierarchical regression
predicting increased problematic alcohol use at
age 22 from the presence of inappropriate photos
on participants Facebook or MySpace pages at age
21. Covariates include gender, family income, and
problematic alcohol use at age 21. Results
revealed significant main effects for problematic
alcohol use at age 21 (ß .65) and the
presence of inappropriate photos at age 21 (ß
.20). Error bars represent 95 confidence
intervals around the mean. Note. N64 p .05,
p .01, p .001
Discussion
ß -.46

• A greater number of Facebook/MySpace friends may
  be a protective factor for
• youth who do not feel socially accepted
• - Feeling connected to others online may
  buffer symptoms of anxiety or
• depression associated with low social
  acceptance
• However, a greater number of Facebook/MySpace
  friends may also indicate a
• reliance on online social communication at the
  expense of in-person
• interactions
• - Receiving supportive comments from others may
  increase social confidence
• or be a marker of social skill or extraversion
• Photos of deviant behavior may be indicators of
  a disposition toward risk-
• taking behaviors or social popularity

ß .05
Figure 2. Interaction between perceived social
acceptance and number of online friends at age 21
predicting changes in anxious/depressive symptoms
at age 22. Note. p .05, p .01, p
.001