Abstract
BackgroundCollege students’ mental health is at an all-time low. Students are increasingly disclosing their vulnerable, stigmatizing experiences on online social networking sites (SNSs). Peer support facilitated by SNSs can play a crucial role for the students in coping with mental health–related problems. Thus, it is imperative to understand how university students form perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors toward their peers who are dealing with mental health problems.ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide a better understanding of how college students recognize, perceive, and react to signs of mental health problems in their peers on SNSs. Our ultimate goal in this study was to inform the design of SNSs that can facilitate online peer support.MethodsWe conducted surveys with 226 students as well as semistructured interviews with 20 students at six universities in South Korea.ResultsOf the 226 survey respondents, 150 (66.4%) reported that they recognized signs of a mental health problem on their friends’ SNS posts. However, a considerable number of respondents (62/150, 41.3%) were reluctant to offer support, even when they had identified friends who were at risk; this reluctance was due to a lack of knowledge or confidence and their desire to maintain a distance from at-risk peers to save their identity from stigmatization and to avoid emotional contagion online.ConclusionsDrawing on these results, we provide implications that could explain the construction of students’ perceptions regarding their peers’ mental health problems. We also provide design proposals for SNSs to serve as platforms that facilitate just-in-time and adaptive support exchanges among peers while mitigating stigma-related concerns.
Highlights
College students’ mental health is at an all-time low because they are exposed to a wide variety of stressors and pressures [1]
A considerable number of respondents (62/150, 41.3%) were reluctant to offer support, even when they had identified friends who were at risk; this reluctance was due to a lack of knowledge or confidence and their desire to maintain a distance from at-risk peers to save their identity from stigmatization and to avoid emotional contagion online
Social support and peer support—meaningful interactions that provide some sort of support, including emotional and instrumental support among fellow students who are of similar age and social status—play a key role for coping with mental illness and maintaining well-being [5]
Summary
Background College students’ mental health is at an all-time low because they are exposed to a wide variety of stressors and pressures [1]. Social support and peer support—meaningful interactions that provide some sort of support, including emotional and instrumental support among fellow students who are of similar age and social status (ie, members of the same student population)—play a key role for coping with mental illness and maintaining well-being [5]. These peers may or may not have experienced similar mental health challenges. It is imperative to understand how university students form perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors toward their peers who are dealing with mental health problems
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