Online Mental-Health Content Exposure, Self-Identification of Depression and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents
Abstract: Adolescents increasingly use social media to interpret their emotions, yet little is known about how exposure to online mental-health content relates to self-identification of depression and to standardised symptom scores. This cross-sectional study examined these links in 376 adolescents aged 15-19 years from schools and colleges in Kothanur, Bengaluru, India. Participants completed the Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A), the researcher-developed Online Mental Health Content Exposure Questionnaire (OMHCEQ) and Self-Identification of Depression Scale (SIDS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Self-identification correlated moderately with PHQ-9 scores (r = .47, p 2 = .129, p
Keywords: Adolescents; Depressive symptoms; Self-identification; Online mental-health content; Social media engagement
How to Cite?: Sharon Ruth, R Hemanth Babu, "Online Mental-Health Content Exposure, Self-Identification of Depression and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 167-174, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261001124242, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261001124242