McCloskey Wilfred, Iwanicki Sierra, Lauterbach Dean, Giammittorio David M, Maxwell Kendal
1 Department of Psychology, Eastern Michigan University , Ypsilanti, Michigan.
2 University of Michigan Health System , Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2015 Sep;18(9):499-505. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2014.0538.
Greater social support is predictive of lower depression and higher quality of life (QOL). However, the way in which social support is provided has changed greatly with the expanding role of social networking sites (e.g., Facebook). While there are numerous anecdotal accounts of the benefits of Facebook-based social support, little empirical evidence exists to support these assertions, and there are no empirically validated measures designed to assess social support provided via this unique social networking medium. This study sought to develop an empirically sound measure of Facebook-based social support (Facebook Measure of Social Support [FMSS]) and to assess how this new measure relates to previously established measures of support and two outcome variables: depression and QOL. Following exploratory factor analysis, the FMSS was determined to assess four factors of social support on Facebook (Perceived, Emotional, Negative, Received/Instrumental). The Negative Support factor on the FMSS was most strongly related to both depression and QOL with magnitudes (and direction of relationships) comparable to a traditional measure of perceived social support. However, two FMSS factors (Received/Instrumental and Perceived) were unrelated to both mental health outcomes. Contrary to expectations, elevations in one FMSS factor (Emotional) was associated with worse symptoms of depression and poorer psychological QOL. When taken together, only the absence of negative social support on Facebook is significantly predictive of mental health functioning. Consequently, those hoping to use Facebook as a medium for reducing depression or improving QOL are unlikely to realize significant therapeutic benefits.
更多的社会支持预示着更低的抑郁水平和更高的生活质量（QOL）。然而，随着社交网站（如脸书）作用的不断扩大，提供社会支持的方式已经发生了很大变化。虽然有许多关于脸书社交支持益处的轶事报道，但几乎没有实证证据支持这些说法，也没有经过实证验证的措施来评估通过这种独特的社交网络媒介提供的社会支持。本研究旨在开发一种基于实证的脸书社交支持测量方法（脸书社交支持量表[FMSS]），并评估这一新测量方法与先前确立的支持测量方法以及两个结果变量（抑郁和生活质量）之间的关系。经过探索性因素分析，确定FMSS可评估脸书上社会支持的四个因素（感知到的、情感性的、消极的、获得的/工具性的）。FMSS上的消极支持因素与抑郁和生活质量的相关性最强，其程度（以及关系方向）与传统的感知社会支持测量方法相当。然而，FMSS的两个因素（获得的/工具性的和感知到的）与这两个心理健康结果均无关联。与预期相反，FMSS的一个因素（情感性的）升高与更严重的抑郁症状和更差的心理生活质量相关。综合来看，只有脸书上不存在消极社会支持才显著预示着心理健康功能良好。因此，那些希望利用脸书作为减轻抑郁或改善生活质量媒介的人不太可能实现显著的治疗效果。
