Resilience and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents: the mediating role of fear of missing out

Abstract

BackgroundThis research aimed to determine the relationship of resilience and symptoms of depression and anxiety in Indonesian adolescents, particularly the degree to which the fear of missing out (FoMO) influenced resilience toward symptoms of depression and anxiety.Participants and procedureFive hundred nine Indonesian adolescents aged 12-18 participated in this research. Three psychological measures were used in this research: the Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO), the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).ResultsThe structural model showed that resilience did not significantly predict FoMO. It significantly and negatively affected depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, FoMO was the strongest predictor for depression, followed by stress and anxiety. Gender significantly predicted psychological symptoms, with females being more prone to depression, anxiety, and stress than males. The percentage of variation explained for depression, anxiety, and stress was 15.8%, 15.1%, and 9.5%, respectively.ConclusionsThe study indicated that with higher adolescents’ resilience status there was a lower tendency of depression and anxiety. Based on the mediation results, FoMO did not significantly mediate the relationship between resilience and depression. These findings contribute to the impacts of online anxiety-related variables that can generate symptoms of stress and depression in adolescents.