Problematic social media use and self-rated health among Swedish adolescents: is the association moderated by family support?

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have documented a range of adverse health outcomes associated with excessive social media use among adolescents. Fewer studies have examined potential protective factors in this context. Our study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the relationship between Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) and poor Self-Reported Health (SRH) among Swedish adolescents, while also examining the potential buffering role of family support.

METHODS

The data was sourced from the 2017/18 cross-sectional Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, encompassing 3,135 students aged 11, 13, and 15 years. PSMU was measured using the Social Media Disorder Scale and categorized into three levels: low risk of PSMU, moderate risk of PSMU and having PSMU. Poor SRH was defined as a binary variable, with 'Less than good health' as the outcome category. Family support was measured using three items that quantified the level of emotional support received, categorized into an index of low, moderate, and high family support. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between PSMU and poor SRH, adjusting for age, gender, and family affluence. The potential moderating effect of family support was analyzed by including variables to test for both multiplicative and additive interaction between PSMU and family support on the risk of poor SRH.

RESULTS

After adjustment for covariates, the results revealed a graded association between PSMU and poor SRH, with adolescents classified as having PSMU showing the highest odds of poor SRH, followed by those at moderate risk for PSMU. No statistically significant interaction was found on the multiplicative scale. The additive interaction analysis indicated potential trends of a buffering effect of high family support on the risk of poor SRH among adolescents with PSMU, although this was not statistically confirmed [due to small numbers in some of the cells].

CONCLUSIONS

Our study revealed a significant, graded relationship between PSMU and poor SRH, highlighting the need to limit excessive social media use among adolescents to prevent health issues. The finding, that high family support may serve as a potential protective factor against poor SRH in adolescents with PSMU underscores the role of family engagement in safeguarding adolescent well-being.