Correlation of Personality and Mental well-being with Facebook use: Does Gender play a role?

Introduction

Communication in today’s world is synonymous with multiple social media applications and instant feedback. Among the social media platforms, Facebook remains the most popular in India.¹ Facebook is used most between 18-25 years and is characterized by identity formation, building close relationships and joining peer groups.² With digital communication being preferred over personal interaction, there is a difference in an individual’s personality online and in person due to lack of personal contact. The way a person presents themselves online depends on their personality³ . Personality traits are consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings or actions that distinguish people from one another. The fivefactor model assesses personality using five traits namely Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability and is a popular tool used in studies Several studies have explored the relationship between personality and use of social networking sites using this model.⁴

It has been suggested that Extroversion is positively linked with increased social media use.^4,5 The relationship between emotional stability and Facebook use has also been extensively studied. Individuals with low emotional stability are more likely to engage in social media and prefer online interactions over face to face ones.^4,6 Openness to experience is probably a factor that determines an individual’s urge to try a new method of communication or using a social networking site for a novel experience and is positively correlated to Facebookuse.⁷ Conscientiousness is associated with being systematic, meticulous, determined, success oriented and ambitious. Those with higher conscientiousness scores are more likely to be Facebook users as compared to non-users.² Contradictory results have been found linking Agreeableness with Facebook use.8 Interestingly, it was seen that the effect of personality on Facebook use may be related to gender.9 Multiple studies have been conducted to understand how gender influences Facebook use. The separate effects of gender and personality on Facebook use have rarely been studied.

The response to the online image of an individual in the form of likes, instant appreciation, and quick responses plays an important role in the mental wellbeing of the person. The effects of social media on the lives of users has been studied, with more frequent surfacing of terms like “Facebook Depression” and social media addiction.¹⁰ Some studies show that Facebook has a positive psychological impact on users.¹¹ However, the negative impact of Facebook on mental health has also been found.¹² The above studies have mainly focused on the quantity of Facebook use while evidence suggests that the quality of Facebook use is a more important determinant in the causation of depression.¹³ While the relationship between Facebook and depression is unclear, stress being caused by Facebook use is well documented.¹⁴ A positive relationship was also found between time spent on Facebook and social anxiety. However, whether it is anxiety that leads to increased Facebook use or vice versa is yet to be determined¹⁵. The results of studies attempting to relate personality and mental well-being with social media use are mixed and often contradictory. There is insufficient data on whether a difference exists between users and nonusers of social media. The interplay between gender and social media use has also not received much attention. Different parameters related to Facebook use have been studied, but the intensity of Facebook use, which is a truer measure of Facebook addiction, has not been explored.

Considering the limitations of prior studies, we aim to identify differences between Facebook users and non users in personality traits and mental wellbeing. Among Facebook users, we attempt to study the relationship of personality and mental wellbeing with the intensity of Facebook use. We further attempt to understand how gender influences these relationships. 

Materials and methods

Study design and participants

The study was conducted with a cross-sectional design between February and August 2017. Institutional ethical committee clearance was obtained prior to the start of the study. A multisection, self-report questionnaire was created online using Google Quiz. Responses were collected by snowball sampling using a recruitment message along with a link to the questionnaire. These were sent out to individuals aged between 18 and 25 years via email and messaging tools. The questionnaire was preceded by a brief description of the study, a guarantee of confidentiality, and a statement of consent. The participant could proceed provided he/ she consented to participate in the study. Those responses that were found incomplete were excluded from the study analysis.

Measures

The initial questions obtained demographic information, the individual’s Facebook usage and the reasons for the same. A subject was considered a ‘Facebook user’ if they held an active Facebook account and had logged on at least once in the past three weeks. An individual was considered a ‘Facebook non-user’ if they did not have an active Facebook account or had not logged in the past three weeks.

The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI)

The ten-item personality inventory was administered to both Facebook users and nonusers. It evaluates an individual’s personality based on the Big Five personality traits, developed by Gosling et al.¹⁶ with ten Likert scale questions. Each question is scored using a 7-point scale (1=Disagree Strongly; 7 = Agree Strongly). The following traits were assessed using two questions each, with one of the questions being reverse scored; Agreeableness, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience and Emotional stability. Scoring was done as elaborated by the creators of the scale.

Facebook Intensity Scale (FIS

) The Facebook Intensity Scale¹⁷ was administered to Facebook users. (Scale reliability: Cronbach’s alpha=0.83) measures Facebook use intensity beyond simple measures such as frequency of use and duration. It consists of eight questions. The initial six are 5-point Likert scale attitudinal questions designed to assess the emotional attachment of the participant to Facebook (1= Strongly Disagree; 5=Strongly Agree). The last two questions assessed the number of Facebook friends and time spent on Facebook. Recognizing that the number of Facebook friends is not a good estimate of Facebook usage, we considered it to be an independent question with an ordinal scale. The time spent on Facebook was scored as 1 = 0-15 min, 2 = 15-30 min, 3 = 30-60 min, 4 = 1-2 hours, 5 = More than 2 hours. The FIS score was calculated in our study by combining the scores of the six Likert scale questions and the score of the time spent on Facebook in a day. The internal validity of the scale was found to be good (Scale reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80).

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale – 21 (DASS-21)

To evaluate the mental health characteristics in both Facebook users and non-users, the DASS-21 was used. This is the shorter, 21 question version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42)¹⁸ Emotional experiences over the past week were rated using this self-report measure with 4-point Likert scale questions (0 = did not apply to me at all; 3 = Applied to me very much or most of the time). Depression, Anxiety, and Stress were each assessed using seven questions in the scale. Scoring was done as elaborated by the creators of the scale.

Statistical Analysis

The data was analysed using the Deduce GUI for R (Fellows, n.d.). Descriptives were calculated, and where applicable, data was presented as median and interquartile range considering the high degree of skewness. Appropriate statistical analysis was used as detailed in the results section. Statistical significance was considered at α of 0.05.

Results

402 participants completed the questionnaire. Two incomplete responses were excluded. The results were based on 400 responses (Male:Female = 173:222; 5 individuals preferred not to reveal their gender). The mean age was 20.3 years with a standard deviation of 1.8 years. 346 individuals (86.5%) were Facebook users and 54 (13.5%) were Facebook non-users. The main reasons for Facebook inactivity were lack of interest and reduced productivity, 20% non-users found Facebook negatively impacted their mental and physical health.

Comparison between Facebook users and non-users

Table 1 shows the differences in the Big Five Personality traits and mental health variables between Facebook users and non-users. A Mann Whitney U test did not reveal a significant difference in any variable between the two groups 

Comparison between males and females Table 2 shows the differences between males and females in the Big five characteristics, mental health characteristics and the Facebook Intensity Scale score (among Facebook users). The five subjects who preferred not to reveal their gender were excluded from this analysis.

A Mann Whitney U test indicated that males had a significantly higher emotional stability levels (Median = 9, Q3 = 12) when compared to females (Median= 9, Q3 = 10), Z = -3.06, p = 0.002. Stress levels in males (Median = 4) was also found to be lower than in females (Median = 6.5); Z = 3.03, p = 0.003. There was no statistically significant difference in Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to experience, Depression, and Anxiety between males and females. No difference was found in intensity of Facebook use between males and females. Further analysis was stratified by gender due to the significant differences in traits as noted above.

Correlation between personality traits and Facebook usage

Table 3 shows correlation between the Big Five personality traits and Facebook Intensity Scale score. This was studied using Spearman’s correlation. The results were further stratified by gender

Extraversion showed no correlation with the Facebook Intensity Scale score (rs = 0.01, p = 0.85). However, on stratification by gender, extraversion was found to be significantly correlated with the FIS score in both males and females. There was a weak negative correlation in males (rs = -0.17, p = 0.02) while in females a weak positive correlation (rs = 0.16, p = 0.02).

There was a significant weak inverse correlation between Emotional Stability and FIS score (rs = -0.21, p = 0.0001). The effect modification of gender was seen post stratification, where no correlation was found in females (rs = -0.10, p = 0.15) while there was a statistically significant weak inverse correlation in males (rs = -0.26, p = 0.0006).

Openness to experience showed a significant weak inverse correlation with FIS score (rs = -0.12, p = 0.03). However, statistical significance was lost when stratified as males (rs = -0.09, p = 0.23) and females (rs = -0.07, p = 0.29). There was no significant correlation of the FIS score with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.

Correlation between mental health characteristics and Facebook usage

Table 3 shows the correlation between mental health characteristics and Facebook Intensity Scale score, which was also stratified by gender. This was studied using Spearman’s correlation.

Anxiety showed a significant weak positive correlation with FIS score (rs = 0.11, p = 0.02). However, statistical significance was lost when stratified as males (rs = 0.08, p> 0.99) and females (rs = 0.15, p = 0.15). Stress was weakly positively correlated with FIS score (rs = 0.16, p = 0.002). However, this was statistically significant in females (rs = 0.20, p = 0.01) but not in males (rs = 0.14, p = 0.46). There was no significant correlation between Depression and FIS score.

Relation between number of Facebook friends and Facebook usage

A Kruskal Wallis test showed a significant difference in the FIS score between groups in females (χ2(3) = 14.06, p = 0.003) but not in males (χ2(3) = 3.84, p = 0.28). A pairwise comparison between the groups was carried out among females using a post-hoc Dunn test with Benjamini and Hochberg correction. A statistically significant difference was found between the groups ‘Less than 100’ and ‘More than 1000’ (p = 0.03), and ‘100- 500’ and ‘More than 1000’ (p = 0.007).

Discussion

Our study aimed at understanding differences in personality traits and mental health variables between Facebook users and non-users. Amongst users, we attempted to check differences in the same variables with intensity of Facebook use. We tried to understand if gender influences these relationships. Contrary to our expectations, we found no significant difference in personality traits and mental health variables between users and nonusers. The lack of significant differences indicates that there might be other factors contributing to an individual’s decision to use Facebook. It also shows that the mental health of those not using Facebook is not very different from those who do, which contradictory to the study is done by Brailovskaia& Margraf.¹⁹ that shows that Facebook non users have more depressive symptoms. However, interesting correlations were seen in the personality traits and mental health variables with the intensity of Facebook use and gender seemed to play an important factor influencing these correlations. Stratified by gender, males showed a significant negative correlation between extroversion and Facebook intensity and reverse in females. Studies have shown that women use the internet for social interactions, and to engage in behaviour consistent with feminine gender role norms that promote relationship maintenance. Men seem to use social media more for task specific activities.²⁰ Thus, an extroverted woman may find Facebook an excellent platform for building and maintaining social ties while it may not appeal to an extroverted man who might prefer face to face interactions.

Emotional stability showed an inverse correlation with intensity of Facebook use. This is consistent with prior studies⁴ and could be due to a need for positive feedback, assurance and appreciation in those with low emotional stability. Studies have shown that those with low emotional stability write longer posts and tend to create a more positive self-image, which is an attempt of gaining social support. One study also found that these people tend to like more posts and comment more, in the hope of reciprocation.⁶ When stratified by gender, no correlation was seen in females, but an inverse correlation was seen in males. This is consistent with the findings of a study by Correa et al. that suggests men may turn to social media to bolster feelings about themselves by reaching out to others.⁷

An inverse correlation between openness to experience and Facebook use, contradictory to Correa et al.⁷ It is possible that those with high levels of openness to experience may no longer find using Facebook a new, exciting experience and may prefer newer, less mainstream social networking sites..They may also prefer real life experiences over online interactions. No correlation was seen between Agreeableness and Conscientiousness with Facebook intensity which is consistent with the findings of Ross et al.⁸

Thus, personality has a role to play in how a person uses Facebook. The relationship between mental health and Facebook is much more complex. Contrary to abundant evidence we found no correlation between Depression and intensity of Facebook use. Our finding, however, support the results of some studies which show no link between Facebook use and depression.⁹ Depression, anxiety and stress often cluster in individuals.²¹ with people having higher levels of stress and anxiety showing depressive symptoms. “Facebook Depression” may be an end result of the anxiety and stress caused by Facebook use, in addition to the individual factors like their personality and a predisposition towards mental illness.

Anxiety showed a positive correlation with intensity of Facebook use. Studies have shown that anxiety is positively correlated with time spent on Facebook,¹⁵ which is one of the aspects used to measure Facebook intensity in our study. Despite a significant relationship between anxiety and Facebook use, it is not clear whether increased anxiety leads to increased Facebook use or vice versa. Those with high social anxiety use Facebook increasingly to pass time, feel less lonely and prefer online rather than personal interactions.²² It is a method of social compensation for such individuals. Anxiety is also a component of Fear of Missing out, which would make users more anxious if they did not log onto Facebook regularly.²³ Stress showed a positive correlation with Facebook intensity. Like anxiety, stress may be a cause or result of Facebook use. Some studies show that Facebook use can alleviate stress by increasing a person’s perceived social support.²⁴ On the other hand, Facebook use can increase stress due to the pressure of maintaining a desirable online image and receiving positive feedback for their account activities as a way of acceptance amongst peers.²³ This positive correlation was significant only in females when stratified by gender. This is probably due to the higher stress levels of females based on trends seen in this sample.

There is also a clear trend between Facebook intensity and the number of Facebook friends only among females. Number of Facebook friends is associated with stronger perceptions of social support linked to reduced stress and in turn greater well-being.²⁴ Women with higher stress levels may turn to social media as a coping mechanism, with a larger number of friends increasing their sense of perceived social support. The study is limited since it is based on a self-report questionnaire and can have incorrect responses and lack of specificity. A cross-sectional study also prevented a cause-effect analysis. Statistically significant findings were seen even in weak correlations, which reflect unconsidered factors that influence Facebook use and gives scope for further research. Despite its limitations, this study gives us insight into factors associated with Facebook usage. The influence of Facebook studied separately by gender enabled a clearer understanding of the relationship between personality, social media use, and mental health. This will aid in tackling clinically significant cases of mental illness due to social media in a more focused manner.

Financial Disclosure/Conflict of Interest

None of the authors have any financial disclosure to make or have any conflict of interest.

Source of funding

This project was funded by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Short Term Studentship Programme (No. 2017-04441).