Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jun;28(6):447-55.
doi: 10.1002/da.20805. Epub 2011 Mar 11.

Feeling bad on Facebook: depression disclosures by college students on a social networking site

Megan A Moreno  1 , Lauren A Jelenchick, Katie G Egan, Elizabeth Cox, Henry Young, Kerry E Gannon, Tara Becker
Affiliations

Feeling bad on Facebook: depression disclosures by college students on a social networking site

Megan A Moreno et al. Depress Anxiety. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Depression is common and frequently undiagnosed among college students. Social networking sites are popular among college students and can include displayed depression references. The purpose of this study was to evaluate college students' Facebook disclosures that met DSM criteria for a depression symptom or a major depressive episode (MDE).

Methods: We selected public Facebook profiles from sophomore and junior undergraduates and evaluated personally written text: "status updates." We applied DSM criteria to 1-year status updates from each profile to determine prevalence of displayed depression symptoms and MDE criteria. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to model the association between depression disclosures and demographics or Facebook use characteristics.

Results: Two hundred profiles were evaluated, and profile owners were 43.5% female with a mean age of 20 years. Overall, 25% of profiles displayed depressive symptoms and 2.5% met criteria for MDE. Profile owners were more likely to reference depression, if they averaged at least one online response from their friends to a status update disclosing depressive symptoms (exp(B) = 2.1, P <.001), or if they used Facebook more frequently (P <.001).

Conclusion: College students commonly display symptoms consistent with depression on Facebook. Our findings suggest that those who receive online reinforcement from their friends are more likely to discuss their depressive symptoms publicly on Facebook. Given the frequency of depression symptom displays on public profiles, social networking sites could be an innovative avenue for combating stigma surrounding mental health conditions or for identifying students at risk for depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Number of status updates per month containing references to sleep or depression symptoms for participants meeting proxy criteria for a major depressive episode (MDE) (n = 5)
* Month where proxy criteria for a MDE was met
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hunt J, Eisenberg D. Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. J Adolesc Health. 2010;46(1):3–10. - PubMed
    1. Gallagher RP. National Survey of Couseling Center Directors, 2006. International Assoication of Counseling Services, Inc.; 2007. (Monograph Series No. 8P).
    1. Association ACH. American College Health Association: National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Data Report Fall 2008. American College Health Association; Baltimore: 2009.
    1. Statistics NCE. Digest of Education Statistics: 2009. US Department of Eduction, National Center for Education Statistics; Washington, DC: 2010.
    1. Bramesfeld A, Platt L, Schwartz FW. Possibilities for intervention in adolescents' and young adults' depression from a public health perspective. Health Policy. 2006;79(2–3):121–131. - PubMed

Publication types