Date of Graduation
5-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Human Environmental Science (MS)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
General Human Environmental Sciences
Advisor
Amanda Williams
Committee Member
Zola Moon
Second Committee Member
Kristin Higgins
Keywords
Adolescence, Media Use, Mental Health, Psychology, Sexual Health, Sociology
Abstract
Guided by the ecological “technosystem,” researchers examined data from 10,930 adolescents completing the CDC’s 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) looking for associations between television, social media, depressive symptoms, suicidality, and sexual risk behaviors. Regression results indicate media use is an important factor in adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems. Social media use was associated with significantly poorer mental health, while hours spent watching television was linked with significantly higher sexual risks. Findings from this research are important for multi-systemic prevention and intervention efforts aimed at promoting adolescent resiliency, particularly among vulnerable youth who are most susceptible to media influences.
Recommended Citation
Merrill, Renae A., "Associations Between Media Use, Mental Health, and Risky Sexual Behaviors in Adolescence" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 2705.
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2705
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons