Positive Mental Health Mediates the Relationship Between Facebook Addiction Disorder and Suicide-Related Outcomes: A Longitudinal Approach

Suicide-related outcomes increased among young adults in the last decade. Excessive use of social media was hypothesized to contribute to this development. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate whether Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) predicts suicide-related outcomes, and whether Positive Mental Health (PMH) buffers this effect. Data of 209 German Facebook users [M-age(SDage) = 23.01 (4.45)] were assessed at two measurement time points over a 1-year period (first measurement = T1 and second measurement = T2) through online surveys. FAD was measured with the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, PMH was assessed with the PMH-Scale, and suicide-related outcomes were measured with the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. The significant positive association between FAD (T1) and suicide-related outcomes (T2) was significantly negatively mediated by PMH (T1). These results demonstrate that addictive Facebook use may enhance the risk of suicide-related outcomes. However, PMH contributes to the reduction of this risk. Therefore, addictive Facebook use and PMH should be taken into account when assessing individuals for suicide of risk.