Virtual social support buffers stress response: An experimental comparison of real-life and virtual support prior to a social stressor

Kothgassner, Oswald D.; Goreis, Andreas; Kafka, Johanna Xenia; Kaufmann, Marlene; Atteneder, Katharina; Beutl, Leon; Hennig-Fast, Kristina; Hlavacs, Helmut; Felnhofer, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.11.003

Cited by 54 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Following recent research, the social component seems to be important in basic computer mediated as well as in more complex virtual social interactions. According to this, it is safe to assume that a professional social entity is needed for a significant impact on symptomatology (e.g., Kothgassner et al, 2019a), but further smartphone-based apps have the potential to enrich traditional therapy protocols. Currently, there is a definitive lack of research on combined treatments (traditional face-to-face therapy including mobile app interventions) in the field of PTSD treatment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means, that the individual is protected against the detrimental consequences of stress over time through continuing support. Accordingly, a recent experimental study (Kothgassner et al, 2019a) succeeded in demonstrating a considerable stress buffering effect of virtually provided support compared with face-to-face support. Results indicate that acute stress regulation, negative emotions of shame and ruminationas essential markers for PTSD and depressive symptomsimproved when people received digitally mediated social support, yet this support was only effective in terms of stress buffering if participants thought it was provided by another person (via an avatar) and not by a computer (via an agent).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In line with the idea of self-management, this app offers only limited interactivity with another person (e.g., psychologist, friends, peers etc.). Based on the consideration that social resources (e.g., involvement of significant others in the treatment process) and virtual social support (see above, Kothgassner et al, 2019a) may show particularly beneficial effects on treatment outcome (see Heaney and Israel, 2008), we may, with caution, suggest the inclusion of more social interactive elements in future apps, be it in the form of actual interactions (via chat, voice recordings, video etc.) or via a pre-programmed virtual human which implies the presence of another person.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy of Self-Management Smartphone-Based Apps for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2020

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy of Self-Management Smartphone-Based Apps for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2020

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“…eHealth and telemedicine services enable pregnant women to maintain their regular prenatal visit schedule and avoid the unnecessary risk of COVID-19 exposure [47]. Such online services may significantly affect individuals' coping resources, stress appraisals, and perceived or actual social support [48,49], and may reduce the influence of external and environmental stress on individuals' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we hypothesized that the effects of control measures on interpersonal resources (eg, social support), cognitive status (eg, maladaptive cognition), and mental health might vary between pregnant women who use eHealth resources, such as using social media to obtain health information and online services to make appointments with doctors for prenatal care services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who did not use such resources.…”

Section: Ehealth-related Moderatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social, Cognitive, and eHealth Mechanisms of COVID-19–Related Lockdown and Mandatory Quarantine That Potentially Affect the Mental Health of Pregnant Women in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

Yang¹,

Song²,

Wu³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Although lockdown and mandatory quarantine measures have played crucial roles in the sharp decrease of the number of newly confirmed/suspected COVID-19 cases, concerns have been raised over the threat that these measures pose to mental health, especially the mental health of vulnerable groups, including pregnant women. Few empirical studies have assessed whether and how these control measures may affect mental health, and no study has investigated the prevalence and impacts of the use of eHealth resources among pregnant women during the COVID-19 outbreak. OBJECTIVE This study investigated (1) the effects of lockdown and mandatory quarantine on mental health problems (ie, anxiety and depressive symptoms), (2) the potential mediation effects of perceived social support and maladaptive cognition, and (3) the moderation effects of eHealth-related factors (ie, using social media to obtain health information and using prenatal care services during the COVID-19 pandemic) on pregnant women in China. METHODS An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 19,515 pregnant women from all 34 Chinese provincial-level administrative regions from February 25 to March 10, 2020. RESULTS Of the 19,515 participants, 12,209 (62.6%) were subjected to lockdown in their areas of residence, 737 (3.8%) were subjected to mandatory quarantine, 8712 (44.6%) had probable mild to severe depression, 5696 (29.2%) had probable mild to severe anxiety, and 1442 (7.4%) had suicidal ideations. Only 640 (3.3%) participants reported that they used online prenatal care services during the outbreak. Significant sociodemographic/maternal factors of anxiety/depressive symptoms included age, education, occupation, the area of residence, gestational duration, the number of children born, complication during pregnancy, the means of using prenatal care services, and social media use for obtaining health information. Multiple indicators multiple causes modeling (χ214=495.21; P<.05; comparative fit index=.99; nonnormed fit index=.98; root mean square error of approximation=.04, 90% CI 0.038-0.045) showed that quarantine was directly and indirectly strongly associated with poor mental health through decreased perceived social support and increased maladaptive cognition (B=.04; β=.02, 95% CI 0.01-0.02; P=.001), while lockdown was indirectly associated with mental health through increased social support and maladaptive cognition among pregnant women (B=.03; β=.03, 95% CI 0.02-0.03; P=.001). Multigroup analyses revealed that the use of social media for obtaining health information and the means of using prenatal care services were significant moderators of the model paths. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide epidemiological evidence for the importance of integrating mental health care and eHealth into the planning and implementation of control measure policies. The observed social and cognitive mechanisms and moderators in this study are modifiable, and they can inform the design of evidence-based mental health promotion among pregnant women.

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“…The cell phone could serve as a social blanket because it allows individuals to stay connected to others in periods of stress (Walsh, White, & Young, 2010). Social support has been shown to reduce levels of stress hormones in humans (Cobb, 1976; Cohen & Wills, 1985), and it is possible that stressed out individuals show a greater level of involvement with their cell phone as a way to obtain a form of virtual social support (Kothgassner et al, 2019) during periods of high stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile phone use in young adults who self‐identify as being “Very stressed out” or “Zen”: An exploratory study

et al. 2020

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Previous studies have reported a positive association between mobile phone use and psychological stress. However, the reasons why stressed out individuals use their cell phones more are not clear. To gain further insight on this relationship, we performed secondary analyses on a database of 87 healthy young adults aged 18-35 years who self-categorized themselves as being "Very stressed out" (N = 46) or "Zen" (N = 41). All participants were assessed for psychological stress, duration and nature (hedonistic vs. utilitarian) of mobile phone use, involvement with the mobile phone and levels of nomophobia. Results controlled for the exploratory nature of this study showed that although "Very stressed out" and "Zen" individuals used their mobile phone for the same amount of time and were equally involved with it, "Very stressed out" individuals reported a greater use of their mobile phone for hedonistic purposes and were more nomophobic than "Zen" individuals. The results of this exploratory study suggest that highly stressed out individuals might use hedonistic functions of their mobile phone as a tool to deal with stress, thus explaining why they present greater levels of nomophobia.

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Virtual social support buffers stress response: An experimental comparison of real-life and virtual support prior to a social stressor

Cited by 54 publications

References 40 publications

Efficacy of Self-Management Smartphone-Based Apps for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Efficacy of Self-Management Smartphone-Based Apps for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Social, Cognitive, and eHealth Mechanisms of COVID-19–Related Lockdown and Mandatory Quarantine That Potentially Affect the Mental Health of Pregnant Women in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

Mobile phone use in young adults who self‐identify as being “Very stressed out” or “Zen”: An exploratory study

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