Interaction between young people’s online experiences and wellbeing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do online social networking experiences interact with wellbeing for young people who experience mental health difficulties?
IRAS ID
131974
Contact name
Amy Singleton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University Research Support Office
Research summary
The internet is becoming increasingly common-place in the lives of young people, with 77% percent of 13-16 year olds having a profile on a social networking site, most commonly Facebook. Consequently, psychological research relating to social network sites has grown, often with populations of undergraduate and university students exploring social network usage in relation to a wide range of areas, such as usage and personality characteristics (Moore & McElroy, 2011), academic performance (Junco, 2011), subjective wellbeing (Kim & Lee, 2011) and depression (Moreno et al., 2011). Literature suggests that the use of online social networking can impact a range of factors associated with mental wellbeing, such as anxiety, depression and self-esteem, associated with processes such as the way in which networking sites are used and cyberbullying. Nevertheless, the existing literature has yet to explore how online experiences and use of social networking sites impact young people who access specialist mental health services. This study aims to explore the online experiences of a ‘clinical population’ of young people who access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and how these experiences interact with their wellbeing. Amongst this more general aim, the study will seek to explore young people’s online disclosures interact with their wellbeing. A grounded theory approach will be implemented to develop a theory that explores young peoples’ online experiences and how these interact with their wellbeing.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0668
Date of REC Opinion
4 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion