Ilaria Accorinti, Giulia Mutti, Pamela Fantozzi, Annarita Milone, Gianluca Sesso, Greta Tolomei, Elena Valente, Antonio Narzisi, Edoardo Martinelli, Maria Rosaria Cordella, Gabriele Masi, Stefano Berloffa
{"title":"Social Media Engagement and Usage Patterns, Mental Health Comorbidities, and Empathic Measures in an Italian Adolescent Sample: A Comparative Study.","authors":"Ilaria Accorinti, Giulia Mutti, Pamela Fantozzi, Annarita Milone, Gianluca Sesso, Greta Tolomei, Elena Valente, Antonio Narzisi, Edoardo Martinelli, Maria Rosaria Cordella, Gabriele Masi, Stefano Berloffa","doi":"10.3390/children12091226","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The link between problematic social media (SM) use and socio-emotional deficits has limited clinical evidence. This study compares SM addiction risk and empathic abilities between psychiatric outpatients and healthy peers, exploring how SM categories and/or diagnostic category may modulate these relations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 362 Italian adolescents (11-18 years; 147 cases, 215 controls) completed the Social-Media Disorder Scale (SOMEDIS), Bergen Social-Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RME). Self-reported daily online time and most used social media platforms were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Clinical participants showed higher mean SOMEDIS (M = 18.37) and BSMAS scores (M = 11.71) compared with controls (both <i>p</i> < 0.001). Females reported longer daily SM use (χ<sup>2</sup> = 5.4, <i>p</i> = 0.020). Positive associations were observed between SM addiction risk and age. Within the clinical group, adolescents with emotional dysregulation displayed higher problematic use scores; a modest correlation emerged with internalizing symptoms (withdrawn-depression). Regarding empathy, higher SM addiction risk correlated with lower cognitive empathy (IRI Perspective Taking, Fantasy) and higher Personal Distress. Platform type showed small differences: users of \"Profiling\" platforms reported lower empathy scores compared to \"Entertainment\" users.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Adolescents with psychiatric conditions appear more vulnerable to problematic SM use and reduced empathic abilities. Associations were modest, and platform effects were limited. These findings should be considered exploratory; larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causal pathways between SM use, empathy, and adolescent mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":48588,"journal":{"name":"Children-Basel","volume":"12 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12469058/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Children-Basel","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/children12091226","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: The link between problematic social media (SM) use and socio-emotional deficits has limited clinical evidence. This study compares SM addiction risk and empathic abilities between psychiatric outpatients and healthy peers, exploring how SM categories and/or diagnostic category may modulate these relations.
Methods: A total of 362 Italian adolescents (11-18 years; 147 cases, 215 controls) completed the Social-Media Disorder Scale (SOMEDIS), Bergen Social-Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RME). Self-reported daily online time and most used social media platforms were recorded.
Results: Clinical participants showed higher mean SOMEDIS (M = 18.37) and BSMAS scores (M = 11.71) compared with controls (both p < 0.001). Females reported longer daily SM use (χ2 = 5.4, p = 0.020). Positive associations were observed between SM addiction risk and age. Within the clinical group, adolescents with emotional dysregulation displayed higher problematic use scores; a modest correlation emerged with internalizing symptoms (withdrawn-depression). Regarding empathy, higher SM addiction risk correlated with lower cognitive empathy (IRI Perspective Taking, Fantasy) and higher Personal Distress. Platform type showed small differences: users of "Profiling" platforms reported lower empathy scores compared to "Entertainment" users.
Conclusions: Adolescents with psychiatric conditions appear more vulnerable to problematic SM use and reduced empathic abilities. Associations were modest, and platform effects were limited. These findings should be considered exploratory; larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causal pathways between SM use, empathy, and adolescent mental health.
期刊介绍：
Children is an international, open access journal dedicated to a streamlined, yet scientifically rigorous, dissemination of peer-reviewed science related to childhood health and disease in developed and developing countries.
The publication focuses on sharing clinical, epidemiological and translational science relevant to children’s health. Moreover, the primary goals of the publication are to highlight under‑represented pediatric disciplines, to emphasize interdisciplinary research and to disseminate advances in knowledge in global child health. In addition to original research, the journal publishes expert editorials and commentaries, clinical case reports, and insightful communications reflecting the latest developments in pediatric medicine. By publishing meritorious articles as soon as the editorial review process is completed, rather than at predefined intervals, Children also permits rapid open access sharing of new information, allowing us to reach the broadest audience in the most expedient fashion.
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