Honors Theses

Advisor

Melissa Layman-Guadalupe

Department

Psychology

Publication Date

4-1-2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

College students experience more stress and are more vulnerable to mental illness as compared to the general population. Both COVID-19 and social media usage have shown to be stressors that augment this pre-existing issue. The goal of the current study is to highlight the relationship between the social media usage and mental health of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a correlational and longitudinal research design, undergraduate students completed self-report mental health and social media usage measures throughout the semester. Researchers found that both social media usage, anxiety, and depression levels were higher post-pandemic as compared to pre-pandemic. However, analyses also showed that social media usage was not a significant factor in the self-reported mental health levels of college students at the end of the semester. Future research should continue to study this relationship so we can gain a better understanding of the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Universities need to take the increase in mental health concerns on their campuses seriously and provide necessary support and resources for their students.

Permission Statement

This item is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) and may only be used for noncommercial, educational, and scholarly purposes.

Keywords

Undergraduate research

Disciplines

Psychology

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