Date of Graduation
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Psychological Science
Advisor/Mentor
Judah, Matt
Committee Member/Reader
Ham, Lindsay
Committee Member/Second Reader
Bradley, Amy Marie
Committee Member/Third Reader
Clay, Matt
Abstract
The co-occurrence of social anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder is among the most
prevalent of all mental health comorbidities. Social Anxiety has many negative effects on a
person’s life, including impaired functioning in a relationship or occupation. Depression greatly
affects individuals, making people feel low self-esteem among peers and feelings of isolation.
Developmental theories have begun to recognize that disengagement from social interaction is a
common feature of SAD and MDD and may play an important role in SAD/MDD comorbidity.
Problematic phone use is an emerging risk factor for the comorbidity of social anxiety and
depression. High social media and mobile gaming use has been correlated with social anxiety
and depression in individuals. The purpose of this study was to address problematic phone use,
specifically excessive use of social media and mobile gaming, as a major risk factor for the
comorbidity of social anxiety and depression. It was hypothesized that Time 1 problematic social
media use and mobile gaming will moderate the association of Time 2 social anxiety symptoms
with time 2 depression symptoms, such that the association is stronger at higher levels of
problematic phone use. Zero-order correlations were computed. Multiple regression was used to
investigate the relationship between social anxiety and depression and whether this relationship
is dependent on problematic social media or mobile gaming use. This study concluded that the
relationship between social anxiety and depression was not dependent on problematic mobile
gaming but was dependent on problematic social media use. The comorbidity of social anxiety
and depression is dependent on the interaction of social anxiety and social media use. The
association between social anxiety and depression weakened as a function of social media use,
and the association was not significant if SMAQ scores were 36 or higher.
Keywords
Social Anxiety; Depression; Social Media; Mobile Gaming; Comorbidity
Citation
O'Dwyer, H. (2023). Problematic Phone Use as an Emerging Risk to the Comorbidity of Social Anxiety and Depression. Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/psycuht/42
