Having Fun on Facebook? Mothers’ Enjoyment as a Moderator of Mental Health and Facebook Use

Renee Kaufmann, Marjorie M. Buckner, Andrew M. Ledbetter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study reports results of a study that examined the extent to which contextual factors (i.e., income level and number of children) might predict a mother’s mental health quality, which, in turn, may predict level of engagement with Facebook. Results supported this model, finding that mothers with more children and lower income possess lower mental health quality, and lower mental health quality predicted more frequent Facebook use. However, this pattern was qualified by a mother’s level of enjoyment of Facebook, such that mental health quality did not significantly predict Facebook intensity when enjoyment of Facebook was low. This research extends practitioners’ knowledge of mothers’ mental health quality by identifying a behavior that may indicate lower mental health quality and enhance abilities to recognize mothers who may need support or treatment. Future directions for this research are included.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1014-1023
Number of pages10
JournalHealth Communication
Volume32
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 3 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Taylor & Francis.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Communication

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