A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Exploring the Mediating Role of Social Media and Gaming in the Relationship between Adolescents’ Feelings of Loneliness, Ostracism and Internalizing and Externalizing symptoms; 
Authors: Bruneel, Steven; Sjöblom, Jeremia; Lagerström, Martin; Alanko, Katarina
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Child Psychiatry and Human Development
ISSN: 0009-398X
eISSN: 1573-3327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-026-02027-1
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-026-02027-1
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/524885545
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Social outsiderhood - particularly loneliness and ostracism - has a significant impact on mental health issues such as internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression, conduct problems). Yet, the mechanisms underlying these effects are multifaceted and likely include multiple mediating processes that may either amplify or mitigate the emergence of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This cross-sectional study examines whether digital behaviors - social media use and gaming - mediate the relationship between school-based loneliness, school-based ostracism, and externalizing and internalizing symptoms in Finnish adolescents. Data were collected from 1,742 secondary school students (mean age 14.9 years; 47.6% male). Results reveal that both social media use and gaming were only weakly correlated with school-based loneliness, school-based ostracism, and mental health outcomes. Mediation analyses demonstrated that neither social media nor gaming robustly mediated the link between social disconnection and externalizing and internalizing symptoms. However, social media use weakly but significantly mediated the ostracism - internalizing symptoms link among girls, and gaming partially mediated the loneliness - internalizing symptoms link among boys. The findings suggest that digital behaviors are not primary explanations for the impact of school-based loneliness and ostracism on adolescent mental health. Future research should utilize longitudinal approaches and other measures of digital engagement to further clarify these relationships and identify alternative mediating processes.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (including Turku University Central Hospital). The present study is part of the EDUCA Flagship funded by the Research Council of Finland (#358924, #358947).