The Effects of Online Social Networking on Social Connectedness and Friendship Quality Among Adolescents

The emergence of social networking sites (SNSs) has led to marked shifts in the ways that individuals communicate, share, and acquire information. Present-day adolescents are the first generation to grow up with these technologies and are among the most frequent users (Shapiro & Margolin, 2014). Although the technological landscape continues to evolve, the impact it has on aspects of adolescent development remains poorly understood. This study examined the possible relationship between SNS use and perceptions of social connectedness and friendship quality in a sample of Canadian and American adolescents. A self-report questionnaire developed by the author was utilized to examine the ways participants use SNSs. The Social Connectedness Scale (Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001) and a modified version of this scale were used to measure offline and online social connectedness. The Friendship Quality Scale (FQS; Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994) and a modified version of this scale were used to measure aspects of offline and online friendship quality. The results showed a nonsignificant relationship between the amount of time adolescents spent on SNSs for both friendship quality and social connectedness. The ways that adolescents used SNSs (e.g., for communication or non-communication purposes) were also found to be nonsignificant in their relation to friendship quality and social connectedness. These results are likely due to the variability in the ways that participants spent their time online as well as the overlap between offline and online domains. The finding that using SNSs for communication purposes did not impact friendship quality or social connectedness is likely due to the changing nature of SNSs, which facilitates visually-based information sharing and can result in superficial communication. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed

A Pilot Study of a School-Based CBT Group Intervention for Inner-City Middle School Students

Anxiety is a common problem among children, with prevalence rates averaging between 10-20% (Costello, Mustillo, Keeler & Angold, 2004). Children with difficulties managing stress and worry, have been shown to have difficulties with academic achievement (King & Ollendick, 1989; Van Ameringen, Manicini & Farvolden, 2003), peer relationships (Greco & Morris, 2005), and later emotional adjustment in adolescence and adulthood (Feehan, McGee, & Williams, 1993). Tomb and Hunter (2004) argue that since many anxiety disorders begin during childhood and adolescence, schools are the optimal place for prevention programs to be administered. Prevention programs would help children learn effective ways of coping with their stress and worry before it becomes severe enough to cause significant impairment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been identified as an efficacious treatment for anxiety in children (Silverman, Pina, & Viswesvaran, 2008). Although CBT has been found to be successful in helping youth cope with worry, there is limited literature to support its use in a group format in a school setting (Tomb and Hunter, 2004). Nevertheless, the research that currently exists demonstrates promising results (Bernstein, Layne, Egan, & Tennison, 2005; Masia-Warner, Fisher, Shrout, Rathor & Klein, 2007). Group treatments are beneficial as they are cost effective and allow more children access to treatment (Flannery-Schroeder, Choudhury, & Kendall, 2005). Furthermore, group treatment can be beneficial for treating worry in particular, as the group setting promotes peer modeling, normalization of stress and worry, and an opportunity to practice skills in a social setting (Liber, et al., 2008). Although school-based group treatment can offer many benefits, inner- city schools often lack the financial resources, staff support, and training necessary to provide evidenced-based psychological services to their many students (Ascher, 1991; Tharinger & Palomares, 2004). This study piloted a school-based CBT group intervention focusing on coping skills for inner-city middle school students having difficulty managing stress and worry. Children reported less worries and better coping skills after completing the brief group treatment. Furthermore, this study provided an opportunity for collaboration between an inner city school serving a primarily Hispanic population and a CBT-oriented doctoral training program housed in an osteopathic medical school. It is hoped that this collaborative approach will serve as a first step in creating an ongoing relationship across disciplines, while facilitating the dissemination of evidence-based treatments in multiple settings