Associations between Comparison on Social Media and Depressive Symptoms: A Study of Young Parents

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2020-12, Vol.29 (12), p.3357-3368
• Main Authors: Sidani, Jaime E., Shensa, Ariel, Escobar-Viera, César G., Primack, Brian A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adverse childhood experiences; Age; Analysis; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Childhood experiences; Depression, Mental; Employment Level; Employment status; Ethnicity; Family Income; Mental depression; Original Paper; Parenting; Parents; Parents & parenting; Psychological aspects; Psychology; Race; Social life & customs; Social media; Social networks; Social Sciences; Sociology; Symptoms
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-020-01805-2

We aimed to assess associations between parental social media comparison (PSMC)—the degree to which individuals compare their parenting with others on social media (SM)—and depressive symptoms. In March 2018 we conducted a survey of 528 parents ages 18-30 with children under the age of 18. Participants were asked about SM use, PSMC, and depressive symptoms. PSMC was measured with 7 Likert-type items that asked participants the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with statements such as “Based on their posts, other parents on social media appear to provide a better social life for their children than I do.” Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Multivariable ordered logistic regression models were used to assess the association between PSMC and depressive symptoms while controlling for SM use, parent adverse childhood experiences, parent age, gender, race/ethnicity, relationship status, employment status and household income, age of oldest child, and number of children. The PSMC was internally consistent ( α  = 0.94). In multivariable models, after adjusting for all covariates, there was 51% greater odds of elevated depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.33, 1.71]) for every one-point increase on the PSMC scale. In conclusion, the PSMC is independently associated with elevated depressive symptoms among parents. Future research should assess directionality of these associations and further explore parents’ experiences of comparison with others on SM. Highlights We developed a Parental Social Media Comparison scale (PSMC) to assess how parents compare themselves on social media. We found that a one-point increase in PSMC was associated with 51% greater odds of elevated depressive symptoms. This association was apparent even after controlling for covariates associated with depression and social media use.