The present study aimed to investigate Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) in a German student sample over a period of one year. While mean FAD level did not increase during the investigation period, a significant increase was shown in the number of participants reaching the critical cutoff score. FAD was significantly positively related to the personality trait narcissism and to negative mental health variables (depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms). Furthermore, FAD fully mediated the significant positive relationship between narcissism and stress symptoms, which demonstrates that narcissistic people can be specifically at risk to develop FAD. Present results give a first overview of FAD in Germany. Practical applications for future studies and limitations of present results are discussed.

Background and aims: Individuals with high level of negative mental health often tend to use the social platform Facebook to escape from daily stress. They are at risk to develop an emotional bond to Facebook linked to a need to stay permanently online. The current work investigated addictive use of Facebook and its conceptual framework in clinical context.Methods: In a longitudinal study design, duration of daily use of Facebook, addictive Facebook use, depressiveness, insomnia, and positive mental health (PMH) were assessed in a sample of 349 inpatients [M_age(SD_age) = 50.13 (9.41)] of a psychosomatic rehabilitation clinic in Germany over a period of on average 6 weeks.Results: Regression analyses revealed that duration of daily Facebook use at the first measurement time point (T1) served as significant positive predictor of addictive Facebook use at the second measurement time point (T2). Addictive Facebook use (T1) significantly positively predicted depressiveness and insomnia (T2). Its prediction of PMH (T2) was significantly negative. Mediation analyses showed that PMH (T1) partially mediated the association between addictive Facebook use (T1) and depressiveness (T2), and fully mediated the relationship between addictive Facebook use (T1) and insomnia (T2).Discussion and conclusions: Current longitudinal results indicate that addictive Facebook use might negatively impact the recovery process of inpatients. Thus, it might be relevant to assess and consider addictive Facebook use in the clinical context. Therapeutic interventions are suggested to focus on the enhancement of inpatients’ PMH level, which may buffer the negative effect of problematic Facebook use.

Behavioral measures, such as the wearing of facemasks and maintaining of distance to other people, have been central in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be important in curbing its spread. We therefore investigated their perceived usefulness, adherence and their predictors in representative online samples in eight countries (France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, U.K., U.S.). Of the 7,658 participants, 77.4% rated governmental measures (highest: Germany, lowest: France) as useful and 91.7% reported adherence to them. Adherence was lowest in Russia and Poland, where people felt particularly left alone and not well supported, and in the U.S. and Sweden, where governments showed ambivalent attitudes towards the measures. The highest adherence was reported in countries with very high mortality (U.K., Spain, France) or very positively perceived government communication (Germany). Female gender, higher age, belonging to a risk group, being affected physically and mentally, perception of governmental communication as guided by the interests of people, feeling of being well informed and the level of positive mental health positively predicted both outcomes, while being affected economically negatively predicted both outcomes. Country-specific results are considered in the light of the protection motivation theory and the theory of planned behavior together with potential ways to improve active participation of the population. Overall, we recommend the governments and authorities to stress that each individual can contribute to the control of the COVID-19 situation by adherence to the measures in the public communication. Moreover, they should emphasize the risk of unconscious infection of older individuals by younger people, as well as the importance of physical activity for the protection of mental and physical health especially during the pandemic.

Over one billion people use Facebook as a platform for social interaction and self-presentation making it one of the most popular online sites. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in various personality traits and mental health variables between Facebook users and people who do not use this platform. The data of 945 participants (790 Facebook users, 155 Facebook non-users) were collected. Results indicate that Facebook users score significantly higher on narcissism, self-esteem and extraversion than Facebook non-users. Furthermore, they have significantly higher values of social support, life satisfaction and subjective happiness. Facebook non-users have (marginally) significantly higher values of depression symptoms than Facebook users. In both groups, extraversion, self-esteem, happiness, life satisfaction, resilience and social support, on the one hand, and depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, on the other hand, are negatively correlated. Neuroticism is positively associated with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. However, significant differences exist between Facebook users and Facebook non-users regarding some associations of personality traits and mental health variables. Compared to Facebook non-users, the present results indicate that Facebook users have higher values of certain personality traits and positive variables protecting mental health. These findings are of particular interest considering the high importance of social online-platforms in the daily life of many people.