Centre of Sport and Health Sciences, School of Education, University of Iceland, Iceland.
Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway.
Scand J Public Health. 2024 Jun;52(4):486-493. doi: 10.1177/14034948231161382. Epub 2023 Mar 24.
In a relatively short time, online communication has become an important part of adolescents' lives, and concerns have been raised about its potential effects on mental health. The first aim was to compare mental health status and online communication in 15-year-old Icelanders born in 1988 and in 1994. The second aim was to assess whether the relationship between online communication and mental health has changed among 15-year-old Icelanders from 2003 to 2015 across genders.
Analysis used data from self-reports from 2003 (=385, 51% males) and 2015 (=302, 42% males). Mental health was assessed with subscales of Symptom Checklist 90 and online communications with self-reports. To evaluate the difference in anxiety and depression, a factorial analysis of variance was conducted between gender and years. Multigroup structural equation modelling was used to assess the change in the relationship between years.
Symptoms of anxiety and depression remained unchanged for males. Symptoms of depression increased for females, while anxiety was stable between 2003 and 2015. In 2003, there was no relationship between online communication and mental health. However, in 2015, an association was found for females.
Depression is getting worse for adolescent females, and an association between time spent online communicating and mental health emerged for them in 2015, which did not exist in 2003. These findings add to the possibility that online communication is harmful for mental health, but more detailed studies are still needed.
在相对较短的时间内，在线交流已成为青少年生活的重要组成部分，人们对其对心理健康的潜在影响表示担忧。第一个目的是比较 1988 年和 1994 年出生的 15 岁冰岛青少年的心理健康状况和在线交流情况。第二个目的是评估 2003 年至 2015 年期间，15 岁冰岛青少年的在线交流与心理健康之间的关系是否因性别而异。
分析使用了来自 2003 年（=385，51%男性）和 2015 年（=302，42%男性）自我报告的数据。使用症状检查表 90 的子量表评估心理健康，使用自我报告评估在线交流。为了评估焦虑和抑郁症状的差异，对性别和年份进行了方差分析的因子分析。使用多组结构方程模型评估了年份之间关系的变化。
男性的焦虑和抑郁症状保持不变。女性的抑郁症状增加，而焦虑在 2003 年至 2015 年之间保持稳定。2003 年，在线交流与心理健康之间没有关系。然而，2015 年，女性之间存在关联。
青少年女性的抑郁情况正在恶化，并且她们在 2015 年与在线交流时间和心理健康之间出现了关联，而这种关联在 2003 年并不存在。这些发现增加了在线交流对心理健康有害的可能性，但仍需要更详细的研究。
