AI Insight
This study of 491 South African university students examined how social media integration relates to PTSD-like symptoms, finding that greater social media integration was associated with higher symptom severity across all PTSD symptom clusters. Problem-solving appraisal partially mediated this relationship, while perceived social support moderated it, with both factors serving as protective elements that reduced trauma-related symptoms. The research suggests that while increased social media use correlates with worse PTSD-consistent symptoms, strong problem-solving skills and social support networks can buffer against these negative effects.
Why it matters
These findings have practical implications for mental health interventions targeting young adults who are heavy social media users. Strengthening coping skills and social support networks may be effective strategies for reducing trauma-related distress in populations with high social media engagement, offering concrete directions for campus counseling services and digital wellness programs.
by Tyrone B. Pretorius, Anita Padmanabhanunni
The present study investigated the relationship between social media integration and PTSD-consistent symptomatology among South African university students, with a specific focus on the roles of problem-solving appraisal and perceived social support. Participants were 491 students who completed the Social Media Use Integration Scale, the Problem-Solving Inventory-20, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and mediation and moderation analyses with PROCESS. Social media integration was positively associated with overall PTSD-consistent symptomatology and all symptom clusters measured by the PCL-5. Problem-solving appraisal was negatively associated with PCL-5 symptom severity. It partially mediated the relationship between social media integration and PCL-5 symptom severity. Perceived social support showed a more selective pattern of association, with higher support linked to lower negative alterations in cognition and mood, as well as hyperarousal. In addition, social support moderated the relationship between social media use and PCL-5 symptom severity, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and hyperarousal. These findings suggest that greater social media integration is associated with higher PCL-5 symptom severity, whereas problem-solving appraisal and perceived social support serve as important protective factors. Interventions aimed at strengthening coping appraisals and supportive social networks may help reduce trauma-related distress among young adults in the context of frequent social media use.