The Relationship Between Social Media Use, Mental Health, Self-Esteem, and Substance Use Among Kentucky College Students

Author

MiKaela DismukesFollow

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Creation Date

Spring 2023

Major

Public Health

Department

Health Promotion and Administration

Degree

Graduate

Mentor

Dr. Laurie Larkin, PhD; Dr. Julie Lasslo, PhD; and Jonathan Vorbeck, MPH

Mentor Department

Health Promotion and Administration

Abstract

Social media networking sites are becoming more popular today. Studies have shown that social media use in the United States among adults increased from 5% in 2005 to over 70% in 2019 (El-Khoury et al., 2021). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between social media use, mental health, self-esteem, and substance use among Kentucky college students. A cross-sectional, quantitative study will be conducted among 162 Kentucky college students that completed an online survey. Results have shown that H1: No statistical significance (p > .05) between increased social media use and substance use. H2: Statistical significance (p < .05) between age and race among mental health and self-esteem. H3: No statistical significance between gender and social media filters, X2 (8, N = 158) = 15.2, p = .056. The limitations of this study included time, sample size, and demographics among race and gender.