Sinno Jad, Perez-Brumer Amaya, Shuper Paul A, Grace Daniel
Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Institute for Mental Health Policy Research & Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Med Internet Res. 2025 Jul 23;27:e72452. doi: 10.2196/72452.
Dating apps are virtual sociosexual networking platforms that facilitate varying social and sexual relationships and have considerably changed the way that many queer individuals form social, sexual, and romantic connections. Despite evidence that social media use can be associated with either diminished or improved mental health, few studies have explored the association between dating apps and mental health among queer adults.
Using reparative theory and a transformative paradigm, this research sought to critically explore the association between dating apps and mental health among queer adults in Canada..
We used a convergent mixed methods design comprising an online survey (N=250) and one-on-one interviews (subsample of n=22) among queer adults from across Canada. Participants were recruited using Grindr advertisements and selected for diverse identities. The survey and interview collected information on dating app use and mental health. A structural equation model assessed the association between dating app use and mental health symptoms and the mediating role of discrimination and community connectedness. Hybrid reflexive thematic analysis of interviews elucidated how power and marginalization are negotiated, resisted, and refused in everyday app use.
Participants used an average of 3.22 (SD 1.78) dating apps, most commonly for casual sex (208/249, 83.5%). Dating app use was associated with increased life satisfaction (β=0.31, 95% CI 0.32-1.12; P<.001) and self-esteem (β=0.21, 95% CI 0.04-0.38; P=.02) but not with depression (β=-0.16, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.02; P=.07) or anxiety (β=-0.11, 95% CI -0.45 to 0.10; P=.20). Discrimination and seeking social approval were associated with adverse mental health. Although seeking friendship was the least commonly reported motivation (98/249, 39.4%), interviewees described making friends unintentionally through intimate experiences. Increased community connection was associated with heightened life satisfaction (β=0.18, 95% CI 0.14-0.82; P=.01) and self-esteem (β=0.13, 95% CI 0.004-0.28; P=.04). Interviewees described managing negative impacts of use by adjusting expectations, using technological features to avoid unwanted interactions, and welcoming unexpected interactions in addition to their desired connections from use. Participant accounts of the inconsistent and evolving ways to use dating apps revealed the complex relationship between app use and well-being.
Queer peoples use dating apps conscientiously, leveraging hope and serendipity to stumble upon novel and welcomed connections. Queer peoples use strategies to promote their well-being while navigating this threatening internet-based sociosexual space. The mixed methods approach provides nuance to the relationship between dating app use and well-being, underscoring the context-dependent and temporally dynamic association between them.
约会应用程序是虚拟的社交性网络平台，有助于建立不同的社会和性关系，并且极大地改变了许多同性恋者形成社会、性和浪漫关系的方式。尽管有证据表明使用社交媒体可能与心理健康状况变差或改善有关，但很少有研究探讨约会应用程序与同性恋成年人心理健康之间的关联。
本研究运用修复理论和变革范式，批判性地探索加拿大同性恋成年人中约会应用程序与心理健康之间的关联。
我们采用了一种聚合混合方法设计，包括对来自加拿大各地的同性恋成年人进行在线调查（N = 250）和一对一访谈（子样本n = 22）。通过Grindr广告招募参与者，并选取具有不同身份的人。调查和访谈收集了关于约会应用程序使用情况和心理健康的信息。一个结构方程模型评估了约会应用程序使用与心理健康症状之间的关联以及歧视和社区归属感的中介作用。对访谈进行的混合反思性主题分析阐明了在日常应用程序使用中权力和边缘化是如何被协商、抵制和拒绝的。
参与者平均使用3.22（标准差1.78）个约会应用程序，最常见的用途是随意性行为（208/249，83.5%）。使用约会应用程序与生活满意度提高（β = 0.31，95%置信区间0.32 - 1.12；P <.001）和自尊增强（β = 0.21，95%置信区间0.04 - 0.38；P =.02）相关，但与抑郁（β = -0.16，95%置信区间 -0.33至0.02；P =.07）或焦虑（β = -0.11，95%置信区间 -0.45至0.10；P =.20）无关。歧视和寻求社会认可以及与不良心理健康相关。尽管寻求友谊是最不常被提及的动机（98/249，39.4%），但受访者描述了通过亲密经历无意中交到朋友的情况。社区联系的增加与更高的生活满意度（β = 0.18，95%置信区间0.14 - 0.82；P =.01）和自尊（β = 0.13，95%置信区间0.004 - 0.28；P =.04）相关。受访者描述了通过调整期望、利用技术功能避免不必要的互动以及除了从使用中获得期望的联系之外还欢迎意外互动来管理使用的负面影响。参与者关于使用约会应用程序的不一致和不断演变的方式的描述揭示了应用程序使用与幸福感之间的复杂关系。
同性恋者认真使用约会应用程序，利用希望和机缘偶然发现新颖且受欢迎的联系。同性恋者在这个具有威胁性的基于互联网的社交性空间中导航时会使用策略来促进自身幸福。混合方法为约会应用程序使用与幸福感之间的关系提供了细微差别，强调了它们之间依赖于背景且随时间动态变化的关联。
