Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Health Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)
Chair
Christopher Strunk
Keywords
Generation Z, problematic social media use, depression, anxiety, mental health belief model, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, PHQ-9, GAD-7
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
Recommended Citation
Gann, Michael Chad, "Social Media and Mental Health According to Generation Z: A Health Belief Model-Based Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Generation Z Adults’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Problematic Social Media Use and Its Relationship with Depression and Anxiety" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7425.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7425
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine Generation Z adults’ attitudes and perceptions of problematic social media use (PSMU) as they relate to mental health problems (depression and anxiety) through the lens of the Mental Health Belief Model.
Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey gathered data from a convenience sample (N = 353) of Generation Z adults (age 18-30) after receiving approval from the LU IRB. The previously validated instrument battery included the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Patient Health Questionaire – 9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 (GAD-7), and the Greene (2012) MHBM subscales for perceived susceptibility and fear (PSF), perceived severity (PS), and perceived threat (PT). Analysis included chi-square test, independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney-U, one-way ANOVA, simple bivariate linear regression, and binary logistic regression (α = .05) via SPSS version 30.
Results: Females exhibited statistically significantly higher perceived susceptibility and fear with and without social media recontextualization (PSF no SM and PSF with SM) and perceived threat with and without social media recontextualization (PT no SM and PT with SM) scores than males, while student status, ethnicity, and race showed no significant differences. There were no differences in PS mean scores across all demographic categories. Females and non-students exhibited statistically significantly higher PSF no SM scores than their counterparts, while ethnicity and race showed no significant differences. Through linear regression, BSMAS scores significantly predicted every MHBM measure (PSF no SM, PSF with SM, PS, PT no SM, and PT with SM). Logistic regression models were statistically significant in predicting the increased likelihood of experiencing depression or anxiety symptoms when BSMAS scores increased.
Conclusions: PSMU, as measured by the BSMAS, is independently associated with heightened perceived threat, particularly among women, supporting the foundational pillars of the HBM that health-related behaviors are shaped by the perceived threat of experiencing a mental illness within and outside the context of social media use.
