Psychological Development and Education ›› 2020, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (4): 486-493.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2020.04.12

Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Influence of WeChat Moments Use on Undergraduates' Depression: The Effects of Negative Social Comparison and Self-concept Clarity

WU Yang1, WU Li2,3, NIU Gengfeng2,3,4, CHEN Zhenzhen2,5, WANG Lizhong2,3   

  1. 1. School of Marxism, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074;
    2. School of psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079;
    3. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior(CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430079;
    4. School of Humanities and Social Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xian 710049;
    5. Mental Health Center, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079
  • Published:2020-07-21

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Abstract: In order to investigate the influence of Social Networking Site (SNS, WeChat Moments) on undergraduates’ Depression as well as its inner mechanism-the mediating effect of negative social comparison and moderating effect of self-concept clarity, a sample of 997 undergraduate students was recruited to complete questionnaires on SNS use, negative social comparison, self-concept clarity and Depression. Results revealed that: (1) SNS use was positively correlated with negative social comparison and Depression, while self-concept clarity was negatively correlated with them; (2) SNS use could affect depression through the mediating effect of negative social comparison; (3) The mediating effect of negative social comparison was moderated by self-concept clarity, and specifically, this mediating effect was more pronounced among undergraduate students with low level of self-concept clarity.

Key words: social networking site, undergraduate students, depression, negative social comparison, self-concept clarity

CLC Number: 

  • B844
Appel, H., Crusius, J., & Gerlach, A. L. (2015). Social comparison, envy, and depression on facebook: A study looking at the effects of high comparison standards on depressed individuals. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 34(4), 277-289.
Bareket-Bojmel, L., Moran, S., & Shahar, G. (2016). Strategic self-presentation on Facebook: Personal motives and audience response to online behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 788-795.
Blease, & C., R. (2015). Too many ‘friends’, too few ‘likes’? Evolutionary psychology and ‘Facebook depression’. Review of General Psychology, 19(1), 1-13.
Burke, M., & Kraut, R. E. (2016). The relationship between Facebook use and well-being depends on communication type and tie strength. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 21(4), 265-281.
Butzer, B., & Kuiper, N. A. (2006). Relationships between the frequency of social comparisons and self-concept clarity, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, and depression. Personality & Individual Differences, 41(1), 167-176.
Campbell, J. D., Trapnell, P. D., Heine, S. J., Katz, I. M., Lavallee, L. F., & Lehman, D. R. (1996). Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 70(1), 141-156.
Chow, T. S., & Wan, H. Y. (2017). Is there any ‘Facebook depression’? Exploring the moderating roles of neuroticism, Facebook social comparison and envy. Personality & Individual Differences, 119, 277-282.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168.
Ellison, N. B., Vitak, J., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2014). Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication, 19(4), 855-870.
Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38-45.
Feinstein, B. A., Hershenberg, R., Bhatia, V., Latack, J. A., Meuwly, N., & Davila, J. (2013). Negative social comparison on Facebook and depressive symptoms: Rumination as a mechanism. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(3), 161-170.
Fox, J., & Moreland, J. J. (2015). The dark side of social networking sites: An exploration of the relational and psychological stressors associated with Facebook use and affordances. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 168-176.
Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2016). “Harder, better, faster, stronger”: Negative comparison on Facebook and adolescents' life satisfaction are reciprocally related. Cyberpsychology Behavior & Social Networking,19(3), 158-164.
Gregory, B., & Peters, L. (2017). Unique relationships between self-related constructs, social anxiety, and depression in a non-clinical sample. Behaviour Change, 34(2), 117-133.
Hames, J. L., Hagan, C. R., & Joiner, T. E. (2013). Interpersonal processes in depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 9(1), 355-377.
Hayes, A. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. Journal of Educational Measurement, 51(3), 335-337.
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body Image, 17, 100-110.
Jang, J., & Dworkin, J. (2014). Does social network site use matter for mothers? Implications for bonding and bridging capital. Computers in Human Behavior, 35(6), 489-495.
Jang, K., Park, N., & Song, H. (2016). Social comparison on Facebook: Its antecedents and psychological outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 147-154.
Kleiman, E. M., Liu, R. T., & Riskind, J. H. (2014). Integrating the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide into the depression/suicidal ideation relationship: A short-term prospective study. Behavior Therapy, 45(2), 212-221.
Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D. S., Lin, N., et al. (2013). Facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. Plos One, 8(8), e69841.
Kvam, S., Kleppe, C. L., Nordhus, I. H., & Hovland, A. (2016). Exercise as a treatment for depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 202, 67-86.
Lee, S. Y. (2014). How do people compare themselves with others on social network sites? The case of facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 32(C), 253-260.
Liu, J., Li, C., Carcioppolo, N., & North, M. (2016). Do our Facebook friends make us feel worse? A study of social comparison and emotion. Human Communication Research, 42(4), 619-640.
Lönnqvist, J. E., & Deters, F. G. (2016). Facebook friends, subjective well-being, social support, and personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 113-120.
Mussweiler, T., Ruter, K., & Epstude, K. (2006). The why, who, and how of social comparison: A social-cognition perspective. In Guimond, S. (Ed.), Social comparison and social psychology: Understanding cognition, intergroup relations, and culture. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Oh, H. J., Ozkaya, E., & Larose, R. (2014). How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 30(1), 69-78.
Park, J., Lee, D. S., Shablack, H., Verduyn, P., Deldin, P., Ybarra, O., et al. (2016). When perceptions defy reality: The relationships between depression and actual and perceived Facebook social support. Journal of Affective Disorders, 200, 37-44.
Pedroni, M., Pasquali, F., & Carlo, S. (2014). “My friends are my audience”: Mass-mediation of personal content and relations in Facebook. Observatorio (OBS*), 8(3), 97-113.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385-401.
Richards, D. (2011). Prevalence and clinical course of depression: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(7), 1117-1125.
Saadat, S. H., Shahyad, S., Pakdaman, S., & Shokri, O. (2017). Prediction of social comparison based on perfectionism, self-concept clarity, and self-esteem. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 19(4), e43648.
Seidman, G. (2013). Self-presentation and belonging on Facebook: How personality influences social media use and motivations. Personality & Individual Differences, 54(3), 402-407.
Shaw, A. M., Timpano, K. R., Tran, T. B., & Joormann, J. (2015). Correlates of Facebook usage patterns: The relationship between passive Facebook use, social anxiety symptoms, and brooding. Computers in Human Behavior, 48(C), 575-580.
Sloman, L., Gilbert, P., & Hasey, G. (2003). Evolved mechanisms in depression: The role and interaction of attachment and social rank in depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 74(2), 107-121.
Suls, J., Martin, R., & Wheeler, L. (2010). Social comparison: Why, with whom, and with what effect? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(5), 159-163.
Sun, X. J., Niu, G. F., You, Z. Q., Zhou, Z. K., & Tang, Y. (2017). Gender, negative life events and coping on different stages of depression severity: A cross-sectional study among Chinese university students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 209, 177-181.
Suszek, H., Fronczyk, K., Kopera, M., & Maliszewski, N. (2018). Implicit and explicit self-concept clarity and psychological adjustment. Personality & Individual Differences, 123, 253-256.
Taipale, S. (2016). Do the mobile-rich get richer? Internet use, travelling and social differentiations in Finland. New Media & Society, 18(1), 44-61.
Teng, F., Poon, K. T., Zhang, H., Chen, Z., Yang, Y., & Wang, X. (2016). Situational cuing of materialism triggers self-objectification among women (but not men): The moderating role of self-concept clarity. Personality & Individual Differences, 97, 220-228.
Van Dijk, M. P., Branje, S., Keijsers, L., Hawk, S. T., Rd, H. W., & Meeus, W. (2014). Self-concept clarity across adolescence: Longitudinal associations with open communication with parents and internalizing symptoms. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 43(11), 1861-1870.
Vartanian, L. R. (2009). When the body defines the self: Self-concept clarity, internalization, and body image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 94-126.
Vartanian, L. R., & Dey, S. (2013). Self-concept clarity, thin-ideal internalization, and appearance-related social comparison as predictors of body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 10(4), 495-500.
Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Okdie, B. M., Eckles, K., & Franz, B. (2015). Who compares and despairs? The effect of social comparison orientation on social media use and its outcomes. Personality & Individual Differences, 86, 249-256.
Vries, D. A. D., & Kühne, R. (2015). Facebook and self-perception: Individual susceptibility to negative social comparison on Facebook. Personality & Individual Differences, 86, 217-221.
牛更枫, 孙晓军, 周宗奎, 孔繁昌, 田媛. (2016). 基于QQ空间的社交网站使用对青少年抑郁的影响:上行社会比较和自尊的序列中介作用. 心理学报, 48(10), 1282-1291.
牛更枫, 孙晓军, 周宗奎, 田媛, 刘庆奇, 连帅磊. (2016). 青少年社交网站使用对自我概念清晰性的影响:社会比较的中介作用. 心理科学(1), 97-102.
汪向东, 王希林, 马弘. (1999). 心理卫生评定量表手册. 北京: 中国心理卫生杂志社.
温忠麟, 叶宝娟. (2014). 有调节的中介模型检验方法:竞争还是替补. 心理学报, 46(5), 714-726.
邢淑芬, 俞国良. (2006). 社会比较:对比效应还是同化效应？. 心理科学进展, 14(6), 944-949.
中国互联网信息中心. (2019). 第43次《中国互联网络发展状况统计报告》. 取自http://111.20.46.90/cache/www.cnnic.net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/201902/P020190228510533388308.pdf
周浩, 龙立荣. (2004). 共同方法偏差的统计检验与控制方法. 心理科学进展, 12 (6), 942-950.
[1] XIANG Yanhui, MA Liping, HU Yunqi, LI Xiaojun. The Relationship between Psychological Adaptation and Internal and External Aggression among Adolescents: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study and a Weekly Diary Method [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2026, 42(1): 85-97.
[2] ZHANG Minghao, WANG Junru, WANG Yan, YANG Zhaoli, ZHANG Yanfang, LOU Huilin, XU Xiaohui, XU Min. Influence of Environmental Unpredictability in Early Life on Depression among Junior Middle School Students: The Role of Life History Strategy and Resource Control Strategy [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(6): 881-891.
[3] ZHANG Shanshan, WU Jiayu, WANG Hongyi, LIU Zhihong. Longitudinal Association between Online Authentic Self-presentation and Depression among High School Students: Mediating Effect of Relatedness Needs and Moderating of Interpersonal Sensitivity [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(6): 903-912.
[4] TANG Jiayi, FU Chengyu, XU Wei. The Influence of Family Function on Adolescents’ Depression and Social Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Belief in a Just World [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(5): 701-709.
[5] ZENG Zihao, HU Yiqiu, LIU Shuangjin, PENG Liyi, YANG Qin, WANG Hongcai, HE Zhen, YAO Xingxing. School Interpersonal Relationship and Cumulative Polygenic Genetic Risk of Serotonin System on Adolescent Depression [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(3): 436-447.
[6] WANG Yulong, LI Rong, CHEN Huilin, LIN Xiuyun. Impact of Parental Conflict on Non-suicide Self-injury in Early Adolescence: Longitudinal Mediating Effects of Depression [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2025, 41(2): 276-283.
[7] GONG Yuhan, YE Yingying, ZHOU Xiao. Effects of Abuse and Neglect on Depression in Adolescents: The Roles of Self-esteem and Self-disclosure [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(6): 886-893.
[8] ZHU Jingjing, ZHANG Zhenzhen, LI Yan. The Relation between Maternal Depression and Children’s Social Adjustment: The Mediating Roles of Maternal Distress Reaction and Parent-child Conflict [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(5): 675-686.
[9] HONG Defan, XU Yijie, HU Qian, ZHANG Jiaying, HUANG Yingying, MAO Ran, CHEN Jing, JIANG Suo. Bullying Victimization and Suicide Ideation among Adolescents: Based on Latent Moderated Structural Equation [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(5): 706-719.
[10] LI Xi, ZHANG Pengcheng, WANG Haibin. The Effects of Parent-child Relationship on Depression among Rural Primary and Secondary School Boarders: Analyses Based on Variable Center and Person Center [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(4): 524-532.
[11] XIONG Mingling, WANG Quanquan, XIONG Yuke, JIANG Wenqi, REN Ping. The Effect of Adolescents’ Perception of Parental Academic Pressure on Psychological Adaptation:The Protective Role of Ego-resilience [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(4): 542-550.
[12] WANG Lei, BING Qian, ZHAO Jingxin. The Relationships among Parent-child Cohesion, Sympathetic Nervous System Activity and College Students’ Depression under the Context of Parent-child Separation [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(3): 403-411.
[13] XIAO Jialin, LIANG Kaixin, HUANG Liuyue, WANG Enna, HUANG Qiaomin, HE Yunhan, LU Baolin, CHI Xinli. The Cumulative Effects, Relationship Model, and the Effects of Specific Positive Development Assets in Reducing Adolescent Depression [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(2): 257-269.
[14] YUAN Yuan, LIANG Zhoujian, ZHANG Li. Structural School Climate and Depression among Middle School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Social Support and Gender [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(6): 869-876.
[15] HE Can, WEI Hua, DING Qian, GUI Yong. The Influence of Parents’ Working through Information and Communication Technologies after Hours on Harsh Parenting: Mediating Effect of Anxiety/Depression and Moderating Effect of Perceived Supervisor Support [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(6): 903-912.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd