Social media use: A risk factor for depressive symptoms during pregnancy, finds study

Results from a recent study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders indicate that both higher intensity of Social Media Use and problematic Social Media Use may be a risk factor for higher levels of prenatal depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Accumulating research has shown associations between excessive social media use (SMU) with depressive symptoms. Depression is common during pregnancy, but it is not known whether SMU plays a role in the etiology and clinical course of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

The current study was a prospective cohort study with Dutch-speaking pregnant women recruited at the first antenatal appointment (N = 697). Depressive symptoms were measured at each trimester of pregnancy using the Edinburgh Depression Scale. Growth mixture modeling was used to determine classes of women based on longitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms. Social Media Use was assessed at 12 weeks of pregnancy, specifically, intensity (time and frequency) and problematic Social Media Use.

Three trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy were identified: a low stable (N = 489, 70.2 %), intermediate stable (N = 183, 26.3 %), and high stable (N = 25, 3.6 %) class. SMU Time and Frequency were significantly associated with belonging to the high stable class. Problematic Social Media Use was significantly associated with belonging to the intermediate or high-stable class.

Reference: Lotte Muskens, Lianne P. Hulsbosch, Marion I. van den Heuvel, Emmelyn A.J. Croes, Willem J. Kop, Victor J.M. Pop, Myrthe G.B.M. Boekhorst, Social media use as a risk factor for depressive symptoms during pregnancy, Journal of Affective Disorders, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.06.045