title: Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults.
abstract: Social media use is central to the lives of emerging adults, but the implications of social media use on psychological adjustment are not well understood. The current study aimed to examine the impact of time spent using social media on anxiety symptoms and severity in emerging adults.
  
  
  
  Using a web-based recruitment technique, we collected survey information on social media use and anxiety symptoms and related impairment in a nationally representative sample of 563 emerging adults from the U.S. (18-22 years-old; 50.2% female; 63.3% Non-Hispanic White). Participants self-reported the amount of time they spent using various social media sites on an average day, and responded to anxiety questionnaires RESULTS: Hierarchical regression revealed that more time spent using social media was significantly associated with greater symptoms of dispositional anxiety (B=0.74, 95% CI=0.59-0.90, p<0.001), but was unrelated to recent anxiety-related impairment (B=0.06, 95% CI=0.00-0.12, p=0.051), controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education level. Logistic regression also revealed that more daily social media use was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of participants scoring above the anxiety severity clinical cut-off indicating a probable anxiety disorder (AOR=1.032, 95% CI=1.004-1.062, p=0.028).
  
  
  
  Study limitations include the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report questionnaires.
  
  
  
  Given the ubiquity of social media among emerging adults, who are also at high risk for anxiety disorders, the positive association between social media use and anxiety has important implications for clinicians. Gaining a more nuanced understanding of this relationship will help to inform novel approaches to anxiety treatment.
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106, USA. Electronic address: AVannucci@connecticutchildrens.org.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vannucci
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106, USA; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
authors.forename: Kaitlin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Flannery
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Health, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106, USA; Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
authors.forename: Christine McCauley
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ohannessian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Anxiety disorder; Emerging adults; Online communication; Social media; Young adults