Exploring the Relationship Between Offline Support, Online Support, and Sexual Orientation on Youths’ Mental Health

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

The Internet has significantly impacted how youth socialize. For example, social networking websites have become established as “social tools'' that facilitate peer relations (Lee, 2009). Previous research has examined the extent to which those who have a relatively large number of friends in-person (i.e., high offline support) versus those who have fewer friends (i.e., low offline support) are differentially influenced by social networking opportunities (Khan et al., 2016; Kraut et al., 2002; Lee, 2009; Valkenburg & Peter, 2009). Some preliminary evidence suggests that online social support is associated with greater developmental well-being only for those youth who perceive to have abundant face-to-face support (i.e., the “rich get richer” hypothesis). However, previous investigations have not considered how diverse individual factors could influence this relationship. In particular, how the relationship between offline support, online support, and developmental well-being may differ for marginalized populations, such as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identifying youth, because of the difficulties they can face when searching for supportive in-person networks (Elia, 1993; Higa et al., 2014; Muñoz-Plaza et al., 2002). Thus, it is possible that LGB-identifying youth use the Internet to enhance their social connectedness to compensate for having less offline support in cases where little or none is available (i.e., social compensation theory). To address this open question, the current study explored whether online support moderated the relationship between offline support and well-being differentially for heterosexual and LGB-identifying youth.

To answer our research question, a sample of 316 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 (Mage = 23.17 years, SD = 1.41, 66.46% female) was recruited from Amazon’s MTurk. Participants were residents of the United States or Canada (96.84% American) and self-identified as heterosexual (n = 204) or LGB (n = 112). Participants answered questions about their demographic background, online support, offline support, and mental health. The data was analyzed using moderated hierarchical regression.

Results indicated that LGB-identifying emerging adults reported higher levels of psychological distress than heterosexual youth, which is consistent with previous literature (e.g., Aragon et al., 2014). Additionally, for both LGB-identifying and heterosexual youth, offline support was found to be a protective factor for mental health, whereas online support was found to be a risk factor. Furthermore, LGB-identifying youth with low offline and high online support reported the highest levels of psychological maladjustment and it was for this subset that the effect of offline support on mental health was the strongest. In contrast, the association between offline support and mental health did not differ based on online support for heterosexual youth.

The results of this study suggest that online support does not compensate for offline support for either heterosexual or LGB-identifying youth. Moreover, the findings indicate that the “rich do not get richer” and highlights the potential risks associated with spending time online, even when its primary purpose is for socialization. These results have important implications for promoting positive in-person social networks for marginalized populations in order to best support their mental health and well-being.

Authors

• Kyle Dadgar, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Presenting Author

• Natasha Parent, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cassandra Hesse, University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer D Shapka, University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
  Non-Presenting Author