Adolescents' social interaction skills on social media versus in person and the correlations to well-being

Liron Lamash, Yael Fogel, Liat Hen-Herbst

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: High-quality social interactions with peers could protect adolescents' mental health, resilience, and well-being. Assessing their social interaction skills (SIS) is essential to enhancing them. However, few instruments provide information about SIS in in-person and social media environments. The SIS Questionnaire (SISQ) was developed to fill this gap, spotlighting adolescents' viewpoints on SIS in both environments. This study aimed to describe the SISQ development and psychometric properties, differences in adolescents' SIS in both environments, and relationships between the adolescents' SIS and subjective well-being.

METHODS: A total of 214 typically developed adolescents aged 12-18 (M = 15.3 years, SD = 1.77; 61.2% girls) completed online questionnaires (demographic, SISQ, and Five Well-Being Index). We used exploratory factor analysis for construct validity, Cronbach's alpha for internal reliability, t-tests for differences in SIS, Cohen's d for effect sizes, and Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression for relationships between SIS and well-being.

RESULTS: The SISQ has content validity and a monofactorial scale construct validity with very good internal reliability. Participants rated their in-person SIS significantly higher than on social media, t(213) = -5.24, p < 0.001, d = 0.36, and the in-person environment as more important, t(213) = -11.57, p < 0.001, d = 0.79, than the social media environment. A significant correlation was found between both in-person SIS (r = 0.41, p < 0.001) and social media (r = 0.34, p < 0.01) and well-being.

CONCLUSION: The SISQ is a valid, reliable tool for assessing adolescents' SIS, essential to promoting these skills in this unique environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)501-511
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Adolescence
Volume96
Issue number3
Early online date10 Sep 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Adolescence published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.

Keywords

  • adolescence
  • in-person
  • social interaction skill
  • social media
  • well-being

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Adolescents' social interaction skills on social media versus in person and the correlations to well-being'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this