Gustafsson Jasmine, Jasinskaja-Lahti Inga, Konttinen Hanna, Simonsen Nina, Löfstedt Petra, Lyyra Nelli
Social Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
J Res Adolesc. 2025 Mar;35(1):e13058. doi: 10.1111/jora.13058.
The Nordic countries are among the most digitally advanced societies in the world. Past research suggests that both social support offline and interaction online are linked to adolescent psychological adjustment. However, less is known regarding the complex implications of distinctive sources of social support offline and online interaction for a broader range of indices of adolescent psychosocial well-being, including its contemporary forms such as social media addiction. This study utilized two methodological approaches to examine the social components and determinants of psychosocial well-being (psychosomatic complaints and problematic social media use) among 22,384 Nordic adolescents aged between 11 and 15 years. A variable-centered approach focused on examining perceived support from four sources (family, peers, teachers, and classmates), preference for online interaction, and intensity of online interaction as predictors of psychosocial well-being. Concurrently, a person-centered approach was utilized to explore the subgroups at risk of psychosocial ill-being. In the variable-centered analysis, lower support from family, teachers, and classmates, higher preference for online interaction, and higher intensity of online interaction with "online contacts" (i.e., interaction partners met online) were linked to higher levels of psychosomatic complaints and more problematic social media use. Additionally, lower peer support was associated with increased psychosomatic complaints, while greater intensity of online interaction with "offline contacts" (e.g., close friends, parents) was related to more problematic social media use. The person-centered analysis identified five profiles of adolescents: (1) "Multiply supported online users" (56%), (2) "Primarily (family-peer) supported high online users" (22%), (3) "Non-supported online users" (13%), (4) "Primarily non-supported online users" (5%), and (5) "Non-supported high online users" (4%). Adolescents reporting higher support from multiple sources and moderate online interaction with offline contacts experienced the lowest levels of psychosomatic complaints and the least problematic social media use, while the other profiles exhibited more complex and less optimal psychosocial well-being. In conclusion, these findings suggest that adolescents benefit most from robust social support offline across multiple social networks, but strong support from certain sources (teachers, classmates) can somewhat mitigate the adverse effects of low support from other sources (family, peers). The relationship between online interaction and psychosocial well-being is contingent on the level of social support.
北欧国家是世界上数字化程度最高的社会之一。过去的研究表明，线下社会支持和线上互动都与青少年的心理调适有关。然而，对于线下社会支持的不同来源和线上互动对青少年心理社会幸福感更广泛指标的复杂影响，包括其当代形式如社交媒体成瘾，人们了解得较少。本研究采用两种方法来考察22384名11至15岁北欧青少年心理社会幸福感（身心症状和有问题的社交媒体使用）的社会成分和决定因素。一种以变量为中心的方法侧重于考察来自四个来源（家庭、同伴、教师和同学）的感知支持、对线上互动的偏好以及作为心理社会幸福感预测指标的线上互动强度。同时，采用一种以个体为中心的方法来探索有心理社会幸福感不佳风险的亚组。在以变量为中心的分析中，来自家庭、教师和同学的支持较低、对线上互动的偏好较高以及与“线上联系人”（即在线上认识的互动伙伴）的线上互动强度较高，都与更高水平的身心症状和更有问题的社交媒体使用有关。此外，同伴支持较低与身心症状增加有关，而与“线下联系人”（如亲密朋友、父母）的线上互动强度较高则与更有问题的社交媒体使用有关。以个体为中心的分析确定了青少年的五种类型：（1）“多重支持的线上使用者”（56%），（2）“主要（家庭 - 同伴）支持的高线上使用者”（22%），（3）“无支持的线上使用者”（13%），（4）“主要无支持的线上使用者”（5%），以及（5）“无支持的高线上使用者”（4%）。报告从多个来源获得更高支持且与线下联系人适度线上互动的青少年，身心症状水平最低，社交媒体使用问题最少，而其他类型则表现出更复杂且不太理想的心理社会幸福感。总之，这些发现表明，青少年从多个社交网络中强大的线下社会支持中受益最大，但某些来源（教师、同学）的强大支持可以在一定程度上减轻其他来源（家庭、同伴）支持不足的不利影响。线上互动与心理社会幸福感之间的关系取决于社会支持的水平。
