Depression and disclosure behavior via social media : a study of university students in China

Abstract

Severe stress and depression constitute serious challenges to people in both personal and public health. Numerous university students suffer from depression each year while only fractions of them receive proper and competent treatments. Following the trends of the era, social media has been prevalent among university students and become a new platform to disclose depression references. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of various stressors and the “Big Five” personality traits towards the intention of disclosing depression. Addition to the disclosure intention, this study also explores if respondents have presented their depression via social media profiles. Over 200 WeChat users were surveyed on their experiences from psychological stress factors under four categories - academy, relationship and practical issues. © 2020 The AuthorsPsychology; Depression; Disclosure intention; Disclosure behaviour; Social media; University students; China