Strong Correlations between Social Appearance Anxiety, Use of Social Media, and Feelings of Loneliness in Adolescents and Young Adults

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15470536
AutoresTriada Konstantina Papapanou (0000-0002-4087-666X, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Christina Darviri (0000-0002-1878-3440, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Christina Kanaka‐Gantenbein (0000-0001-6942-6470, UNESCO), Xanthi Tigani (0000-0002-8817-2848, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Maria Michou (0000-0003-0169-0288, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Dimitriοs Vlachakis (0000-0003-1823-6102, Agricultural University of Athens), George P Chrousos (0000-0002-3098-5264, UNESCO), Flora Bacopoulou (0000-0003-1001-0926, UNESCO, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen20
Número5
Páginas4296-4296
Fecha de publicación2023-02-28
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph20054296
PMID36901307
OpenAlexW4322629371
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas47

Social appearance anxiety is a type of social anxiety that is associated with body image perception and exacerbated by the use of social media, leading to feelings of loneliness. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relations between social appearance anxiety, use of social media, and feelings of loneliness in Greek adolescents and young adults. The sample of the research consisted of 632 participants, 439 women (69.5%) and 193 men (30.5%), aged 18-35 years. The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS), the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale were the instruments used. Data collection was performed online, via Google forms. Multiple regression analyses were performed and demonstrated a significant positive correlation between the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale scores. The feeling of loneliness was predicted by the social appearance anxiety score ( p p = 0.002), suggesting that social media use may exacerbate appearance anxiety and, hence, loneliness. The findings suggest that there may be a complex, vicious reverberatory cycle between appearance anxiety, use of social media, and feelings of loneliness in some young people

Anxiety · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Loneliness · Psychiatry · Scale (ratio · Social anxiety · Social media · UCLA Loneliness Scale · Clinical Psychology · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology