A Scoping Review of User Characteristics Moderating the Relationship Between Use of Social Networking Sites and Mental Health

The relationship between social networking sites (SNS) and mental health is influenced by individual user characteristics, making it crucial to understand the nature of this complex interaction. Despite its importance, however, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews synthesizing prior studies on how user characteristics moderate the relationship between usage of SNS and mental health. Therefore, to examine how this issue has been studied in the literature, we conducted a scoping review, focusing on quantitative evidence, including experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experience-sampling studies. We provide an overview of (a) user characteristics that have been examined as moderators of the relationship between (overall, active, or passive) SNS use and mental health (well-being or ill-being), and (b) methodological and theoretical features of these studies. After conducting a systematic database search, followed by title and abstract screening, full-text review of relevant studies, and an interrater reliability check among three authors, we found 30 journal articles examining 24 unique moderators. We then applied a narrative synthesis approach to describe the findings. Most studies were atheoretical, cross-sectional, and relied on convenience samples. Most moderators (<i>n</i> = 16, 67%) were examined in a single journal article only and for those examined at least twice (gender, social comparison orientation, neuroticism, extraversion, SNS use motives, Fear of missing out, self-esteem, social capital &amp; social support, and age), results were mixed. However, experimental studies revealed that social comparison orientation was the most consistent moderator, aggravating the negative consequences of passive SNS use on mental health. We outline four recommendations for future studies on the conditional effects of SNS use on mental health to resolve existing inconsistencies and deepen our understanding of these conditional effects: (a) improving participant sampling, (b) refining the conceptualization and measurement of key variables, (c) accounting for platform diversity, and (d) incorporating theoretical frameworks.

社交网站（Social Networking Sites, SNS）与心理健康之间的关系受个体用户特征的影响，因此厘清这一复杂交互的本质至关重要。尽管该议题意义重大，但目前仍缺乏全面综述以整合既往关于用户特征如何调节社交网站使用与心理健康之间关系的研究。为此，为厘清该议题在学术文献中的研究脉络，本研究开展了一项范围综述（scoping review），重点聚焦定量研究证据，涵盖实验研究、横断面研究、纵向研究与经验抽样研究。本研究对两方面内容进行了综述：其一，被作为调节变量纳入分析的、影响（总体、主动或被动）社交网站使用与心理健康（幸福或痛苦）之间关系的用户特征；其二，此类研究的方法论与理论特征。本研究通过系统性数据库检索，依次完成标题与摘要筛选、相关文献全文审阅，以及三名研究者间的评分者信度检验后，最终纳入30篇期刊论文，共涉及24种独特的调节变量。随后本研究采用叙述性综合法对研究结果进行阐述。绝大多数研究未依托理论框架、采用横断面设计，且依赖便利抽样样本。大多数调节变量（n=16，占比67%）仅在单篇期刊论文中被探讨过；而对于至少被两次探讨的调节变量（性别、社会比较取向（social comparison orientation）、神经质（neuroticism）、外向性（extraversion）、社交网站使用动机、错失恐惧（Fear of Missing Out）、自尊（self-esteem）、社会资本（social capital）与社会支持，以及年龄），研究结果并不一致。但实验研究结果表明，社会比较取向是一致性最高的调节变量，其会加剧被动使用社交网站对心理健康带来的负面影响。针对社交网站使用对心理健康的条件性效应这一议题，本研究提出四项未来研究建议，以解决当前研究结论不一致的问题，并深化对这类条件性效应的认知：其一，优化被试抽样方案；其二，细化关键变量的概念界定与测量工具；其三，考虑平台多样性的影响；其四，纳入理论分析框架。