This study investigates the relationship between Taiwanese adolescents’ depressive mood and their self-reported online and offline activities. The results indicate that adolescents who reported higher depressive mood were more likely to use the internet to make friends and express feelings compared to those who were lower in depressive mood. Teens higher in depressive mood reported to have fewer individuals in their immediate social network to speak with, either online or offline, when feeling blue. Hierarchical linear regression analysis shows that adolescents higher in depressive mood reported to engage in more online activities in the areas of communication, entertainment and information seeking. Further, a positive relationship between depressive mood and participation in risk behaviors is identified. These findings shed light on earlier studies that focus predominantly on US internet users, suggesting that the role that the internet plays for youths with depressive mood may vary by cultural context.
Adams, A. and J. Adams ( 1991) ‘Life Events, Depression and Perceived Problem Solving Alternatives in Adolescents’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry32(5): 811-20.
2.
Ainsworth, P. ( 2000) Understanding Depression. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi.
3.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ( 2007) ‘Your Adolescent - Depressive Disorders’ , URL (consulted 27 August 2007): http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/publication_store/your_adolescent_depressive_disorders
4.
Anderson, C.A. ( 1999) ‘Attributional Style, Depression and Loneliness: A Cross-cultural Comparison of American and Chinese Students’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin25(4): 482-99.
5.
Bakardjieva, M. and R. Smith ( 2001) ‘The Internet in Everyday Life: Computer Networking from the Standpoint of the Domestic User’, New Media & Society3(1): 67-83.
6.
Bargh, J.A. and K.Y.A. McKenna ( 2004) ‘The Internet and Social Life’, Annual Review of Psychology55(1): 573-90.
7.
Barnett, G.A. and J.M. Hwang ( 2006) ‘The Use of the Internet for Health Information and Social Support: A Content Analysis of Online Breast Cancer Discussion Groups’, in M. Murero and R.E. Rice (eds) The Internet and Health Care: Theory, Research and Practice, pp. 233-53. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Beard, K.W. ( 2005) ‘Internet Addiction: A Review of Current Assessment Techniques and Potential Assessment Questions’, CyberPsychology & Behavior8(1): 7-14.
9.
Beck, A.T. ( 1970) Depression: Causes and Treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
10.
Bemporad, J.R. ( 1994) ‘Dynamic and Interpersonal Theories of Depression’ , in W.M. Reynolds and H.F. Johnston (eds) Handbook of Depression in Children and Adolescents, pp. 81-95. New York: Plenum Press.
11.
Bender, E. ( 2004) ‘"Tremendous Stigma" Keeps Some Asians from Mental Health Care’, Psychiatry News39(22): 21.
12.
Berger, M., T.H. Wagner and L.C. Baker ( 2005) ‘Internet Use and Stigmatized Illness’ , Social Science & Medicine61(8): 1821-7.
13.
Bessière, K., S. Kiesler, R. Kraut and B. Boneva ( 2004) ‘Longitudinal Effects of Internet Uses on Depressive Affect: A Social Resources Approach’. working paper under review for publication.
14.
Blumler, J. and E. Katz ( 1974) The Uses of Mass Communications. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
15.
Burke, K.C., J.D. Burke, D.A. Reigler and D.S. Rae ( 1990) ‘Age at Onset of Selected Mental Disorders in Five Community Populations’, Archives of General Psychiatry47(6): 511-18.
16.
Campbell, A.J., S.R. Cumming and I. Hughes ( 2006) ‘Internet Use by the Socially Fearful: Addiction or Therapy?’ Cyberpsychology & Behavior9(1): 69-81.
17.
Cheong, P.H. ( 2008) ‘The Young and Techless? Internet Use and Problem Solving Behaviors among Young Adults in Singapore’, New Media & Society10(5): 771-91.
18.
Cheung, S.K. ( 1997) ‘Self-discrepancy and Depressive Experience among Chinese Early Adolescents: Significance of Identity and the Undesired Self’ , International Journal of Psychology32(5): 347-59.
19.
Chou, C. ( 2001) ‘Internet Abuse and Addiction among Taiwan College Students: An Online Interview Study’, CyberPsychology and Behaviors4(5): 573-85.
20.
Cummings, J.N., B. Butler and R. Kraut ( 2002) ‘The Quality of Online Social Relationships’ , Communications of the ACM45(7): 103-8.
21.
Dumont, M. ( 2000) ‘Experience of Stress in Adolescence’ , International Journal of Psychology35(5): 194-206.
22.
Frank, E., D.J. Kupfer, J.M. Perel, C. Cornes, D.B. Jarrett and A.G. Mallinger ( 1990) ‘Three-year Outcomes for Maintenance Therapies in Recurrent Depression’, Archives of General Psychiatry47(12): 1093-9.
23.
Franzen, A. ( 2000) ‘Does the Internet Make Us Lonely?’ , European Sociological Review16(4): 427-39.
24.
Gao, G. and S. Ting-Toomey ( 1998) Communicating Effectively with the Chinese. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
Gilmore, N. and M.A. Somerville ( 1994) ‘Stigmatization, Scapegoating and Discrimination in Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Overcoming "Them" and "Us"’, Social Science and Medicine39(9): 1339-58.
26.
Goffman, E. ( 1963) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity . New York: Simon & Schuster .
27.
Goodyer, I.M. and P.M.E. Altham ( 1991) ‘Lifetime Exit Events and Recent Social and Family Adversities in Anxious and Depressed School-age Children and Adolescents - I’, Journal of Affective Disorders21(4): 219-28.
28.
Gould, M.S., J.L.H. Munfakh, K. Lubell, M. Kleinman and S. Parker ( 2002) ‘Seeking Help from the Internet during Adolescence’ , Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry41(10): 1182-90.
29.
Greenfield, P.M. ( 2004) ‘Development Considerations for Determining Appropriate Internet Use Guidelines for Children and Adolescents’, Applied Developmental Psychology25(6): 751-62.
30.
Gross, E.F. ( 2004) ‘Adolescent Internet Use: What We Expect, What Teens Report’, Applied Developmental Psychology25(6): 633-49.
31.
Gross, E.F., J. Juvonen and S.L. Gable ( 2002) ‘Internet Use and Well-being in Adolescence’ , Journal of Social Issues58(1): 75-90.
32.
Hall, E.T. ( 1976) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Books.
33.
Heine, S.J. and D.R. Lehman ( 1999) ‘Culture, Self-discrepancies and Self-satisfaction’ , Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin25(8): 915-25.
Houston, T.K., L.A. Cooper and D.E. Ford ( 2002) ‘Internet Support Groups for Depression: A 1-year Prospective Cohort Study’, American Journal of Psychiatry159(12): 2062-8.
36.
Huang, C.Y. and W.Y. Hsu ( 2003) ‘A Study of Developing an Adolescent Depression Inventory’, Journal of Education and Psychology26(1): 167-90.
37.
John Tung Foundation (2002) Survey of Depression of Taiwanese Students. Taipei: John Tung Foundation.
38.
Joiner, T.E., Jr ( 2002) ‘Depression in Its Interpersonal Context’ , in I.H. Gotlib and C.L. Hemmen (eds) Handbook of Depression , pp. 295-313. New York: Guilford Press.
39.
Jung, J.Y., Y.C. Kim, W.Y. Lin and P.H. Cheong ( 2005) ‘The Influence of Social Environment on Internet Connectedness of Adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei’, New Media & Society2(7): 64-88.
40.
Kramer, P. ( 1997) Listening to Prozac: A Psychiatrist Explores Antidepressant Drugs and the Remaking of the Self (2nd edn). New York: Penguin Books.
41.
Kraut, R., M. Patterson, V. Lundmark, S. Kiesler, T. Mukopadhyay and W. Scherlis ( 1998) ‘Internet Paradox: A Social Technology that Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-being?’, American Psychologist53(9): 1017-31.
42.
Kraut, R., S. Kiesler, B. Boneva, J. Cummings, V. Helgeson and A.A. Crawford ( 2002) ‘Internet Paradox Revisited’, Journal of Social Issues58(1): 49-74.
43.
LaRose, R., M.S. Eastin and J. Gregg ( 2001) ‘Reformulating the Internet Paradox: Social Cognitive Explanations of Internet Use and Depression’, Journal of Online Behavior1(2), URL (consulted 8 April 2007): http://www.behavior.net/JOB/v1n2/paradox.html
44.
Lewinsohn, P.M. and C.A. Essau ( 2002) ‘Depression in Adolescents’, in I.H. Gotlib and C.L. Hemmen (eds) Handbook of Depression, pp. 541-59. New York: Guilford Press.
45.
McKenna, K.Y.A. and J.A. Bargh ( 1998) ‘Coming Out in the Age of the Internet: Identity "Demarginalization" through Virtual Group Participation’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology75(3): 681-94.
46.
McKenna, K.Y.A. and J.A. Bargh ( 2000) ‘Plan 9 from Cyberspace: The Implications of the Internet for Personality and Social Psychology’, Personality and Social Psychology Review4(1): 57-75.
47.
Markus, H.R. and S. Kitayama ( 1991) ‘Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion and Motivation’, Psychological Review98(2): 224-53.
48.
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (2005) ‘Adolescent Depression’, URL (consulted 11 February 2007): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001518.htm
49.
Mendels, P. ( 1999) ‘The Two Faces of Online Anonymity’ , New York Times, 21 July, URL (consulted 8 April 2007): http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/articles/21anonymity.html
50.
Mental Health America (2007) ‘Depression in Teens’, URL (consulted 8 April 2007 ): http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/index.cfm?objectid=C7DF950F-1372-4D20C8B5BD8DFDD94CF1
51.
Norcross, J.C. ( 2000) ‘Here Comes the Self-help Revolution in Mental Health’ , Psychotherapy37(4): 370-7.
52.
Pan, Y. ( 2000) Politeness in Chinese Face-to-face Interaction . Stamford, CT: Ablex.
53.
Patten, S.B. ( 2003) ‘Prevention of Depressive Symptoms through the Use of Distance Technologies’, Psychiatric Services54(3): 396-8.
54.
Postmes, T., R. Spears and M. Lea ( 1999) ‘Social Identity, Group Norms and "Deindividuation": Lessons from Computer-mediated Communication for Social Influence in the Group’ , in N. Ellemers, R. Spears and B. Doosje (eds) Social Identity: Context, Commitment, Content, pp. 174-83. Oxford : Blackwell.
55.
Reynolds, W.M. and H.F. Johnston ( 1994) ‘The Nature and Study of Depression in Children and Adolescents’, in W.M. Reynolds and H.F. Johnston (eds) Handbook of Depression in Children and Adolescents, pp. 3-17. New York: Plenum Press.
56.
Rierdan, J. ( 1999) ‘Internet-Depression Link? A Response to R. Kraut et al.’, American Psychologist54(9): 781-3.
57.
Ruggiero, T. ( 2000) ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century’ , Mass Communication & Society3(1): 3-37.
58.
Shapiro, J.S. ( 1999) ‘Loneliness: Paradox or Artifact?’ , American Psychologist54(9): 782-3.
59.
Shaw, L.H. and L.M. Gant ( 2002) ‘In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-esteem and Perceived Social Support’, Cyberpsychology & Behavior5(2): 157-71.
60.
Shrier, L.A., S.K. Harris, M. Kurland and J.R. Knight ( 2003) ‘Substance Use Problems and Associated Psychiatric Symptoms among Adolescents in Primary Care’, Pediatrics111(6): e699-e705.
61.
Silverman, T. ( 1999) ‘The Internet and Relational Theory’ , American Psychologist54(9): 780-1.
62.
Sirey, J.A., M.L. Bruce, G.S. Alexopoulos, D.A. Perlick, P. Raue, S.J. Friedman and B.S. Meyers ( 2001) ‘Perceived Stigma as a Predictor of Treatment Discontinuation in Young and Older Outpatients with Depression’, American Journal of Psychiatry158(3): 479-81.
63.
Taylor, C.B., K.O. Jobson, A. Winzelberg and L. Abascal ( 2002) ‘The Use of the Internet to Provide Evidence-based Integrated Treatment Programs for Mental Health’, Psychiatric Annals32(11): 671-7.
64.
Teuting, P. and S.H. Koslow ( 1982) Special Report on Depression Research. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services /National Institute of Mental Health .
65.
Tsai, C.C. and S.S.J. Lin ( 2003) ‘Internet Addiction of Adolescents in Taiwan: An Interview Study’, Cyberpsychology & Behavior6(6): 649-52.
66.
Tsai, J.L. and Y. Chentsova-Dutton ( 2002) ‘Understanding Depression across Cultures’ , in I.H. Gotlib and C.L. Hemmen (eds) Handbook of Depression , pp. 467-91. New York: Guilford Press.
67.
Turkle, S. ( 1995) Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet . New York: Simon & Schuster .
68.
Turkle, S. ( 2005) The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit (2nd. edn). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
69.
Tzeng, W.C. and J.G. Lipson ( 2004) ‘The Cultural Context of Suicide Stigma in Taiwan’ , Qualitative Health Research14(3): 345-58.
70.
Wals, M. and F. Verhulst ( 2005) ‘Child and Adolescent Antecedents of Adult Mood Disorders’, Current Opinion in Psychiatry18(1): 5-19.
71.
Weiss, M.G., J. Ramakrishna and D. Somma ( 2006) ‘Health-related Stigma: Rethinking Concepts and Interventions’, Psychology, Health & Medicine11(3): 277-87.
72.
Weissman, M.M., R. Bland, P.R. Joyce and S. Newman ( 1993) ‘Sex Differences in Rates of Depression: Cross-national Perspectives’, Journal of Affective Disorders: Special Issues - Toward New Psychobiology of Depression in Women29: 77-84.
73.
Wellman, B. and C. Haythornthwaite ( 2002) The Internet in Everyday Life. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
74.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2007) ‘Mental Health: The Bare Facts’, URL (consulted 11 February 2007): http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/
75.
Wu, C.S. and F.F. Cheng ( 2007) ‘Internet Café Addiction of Taiwanese Adolescents’ , CyberPsycholoy & Behavior10(2): 220-5.
76.
Ybarra, M.L., C. Alexander and K.J. Mitchell ( 2005) ‘Depressive Symptomatology, Youth Internet Use and Online Interactions: A National Survey’, Journal of Adolescent Health36(1): 9-18.
77.
Yi, C.C. and C.I. Wu ( 2004) ‘Taiwan’, in J.J. Slater (ed.) Teen Life in Asia, pp. 223-42. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
78.
Young, K.S. and R.C. Rogers ( 1998) ‘The Relationship between Depression and Internet Addiction’, Cyberpsychology & Behavior1(1): 25-8.
