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

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