Relations of Adolescent Knowledge of COVID-19, Social Media Engagement, and Experiences During Quarantine/Lockdown with Well-Being

Cultural Dimensions Moderate the Association between Loneliness and Mental Health during Adolescence and Younger Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cultural factors, such as country or continent, influence the relationship between loneliness and mental health. However, less is known about how cultural dimensions moderate this relationship during adolescence and younger adulthood, even if these dimensions manifest as country or continent differences. This study aims to examine the potential influence of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on this relationship using a three-level meta-analysis approach. A total of 292 studies with 291,946 participants aged 10 to 24 were included in this study. The results indicate that cultural dimensions, such as individualism vs. collectivism, indulgence vs. restraint, power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation, moderated the associations between loneliness and social anxiety, stress, Internet overuse, and negative affect. The association between loneliness and mental health was not moderated by cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that culture's influence on the association between loneliness and mental health is based on a domain-specific mechanism.

Interpersonally-Based Fears and Feelings During the Covid-19 Pandemic Revisited: Research Findings and Further Reflections on Fear of Missing out and Feelings of not Mattering

Much has transpired since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) began spreading throughout the world in 2020. In our previous commentary, we focused on the significance of two specific fears with an interpersonal basis (i.e. the fear of missing out, FoMO, and the fear of not mattering) during a period in which daily routines were disrupted and physical distancing or "social distancing" was implemented as a crucial important public health intervention in response to the coronavirus. In the current article, we examine the current context and review what has been learned about the similarities and differences among people during the pandemic with a particular emphasis on research during the pandemic on the fear of missing and feelings and fears of not mattering to other people. The nature of these constructs as revealed during the pandemic is discussed with a focus on how these attributes reflect insecurity and doubts about the self that heighten susceptibility to external feedback. Key themes include the need to consider FoMO from a broad perspective that includes actual lost opportunities during the pandemic and how individual differences in mattering have been reflected in coping and adaptability and related outcomes. It is clear from our analysis that FoMO and mattering are highly salient and relevant constructs with clear ecological validity in terms of accounting for individual differences in the costs and consequences of the pandemic.