Abad Santos Paolo Miguel T, Cleofas Jerome V, Austria Arianne Gail O, de Guzman Alejandra Kamiya B, Sarile Brianna Angela F
Department of Sociology and Behavioral Sciences, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
Front Sociol. 2023 Apr 28;8:1132523. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1132523. eCollection 2023.
Evidence supports both the positive and negative effects of Internet use on mental health outcomes, but it remains unclear on the role of online social support in this relationship. This study examined the link between daily hours of general Internet use and bidimensional mental health (BMMH) through the pathway of online social support (OSSS).
Drawing from a sample of 247 Filipino university students, this cross-sectional study tested two simple mediation models that considered mental wellbeing and psychological distress as outcome variables.
Findings show that the total effect of Internet use is positive and negative for mental wellbeing and psychological distress, respectively. Online social support mediated the favorable effects of Internet use on BMMH outcomes. However, the introduction of OSSS as a mediator yielded residual direct effects with opposing signs for both models. The resultant inconsistent mediation in the models signifies the double-edged impact of Internet use on mental health, with favorable effects transmitted through online social support.
Findings highlight the importance of online social support as a pathway to harness the positive effects of Internet on mental health. Recommendations to improve online social support for students are discussed herein.
有证据表明互联网使用对心理健康结果既有积极影响也有消极影响，但在线社交支持在这种关系中的作用仍不明确。本研究通过在线社交支持（OSSS）途径，考察了一般互联网使用时长与双维度心理健康（BMMH）之间的联系。
本横断面研究以247名菲律宾大学生为样本，测试了两个简单的中介模型，将心理健康和心理困扰作为结果变量。
研究结果表明，互联网使用对心理健康和心理困扰的总效应分别为正向和负向。在线社交支持介导了互联网使用对BMMH结果的有利影响。然而，引入OSSS作为中介后，两个模型都产生了具有相反符号的残余直接效应。模型中由此产生的不一致中介表明互联网使用对心理健康具有双刃剑效应，其有利影响通过在线社交支持传递。
研究结果凸显了在线社交支持作为利用互联网对心理健康产生积极影响的途径的重要性。本文讨论了改善学生在线社交支持的建议。
