ArticleThe Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine2021
Frequency of Text Messaging and Adolescents' Mental Health Symptoms Across 4 Years of High School.
Article in The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Heterogeneities by Age and Sex in Associations Between Electronic Device Use Frequency and Comorbid Mental Health Symptoms: The Roles of Self-Efficacy and Social Support.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Digital Phenotyping via Passive Network Traffic Monitoring: Prospective Observational Study in University Students.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- Examining the Association Between Internet Use and Perceived Stress in Adults: Longitudinal Observational Study Combining Web Tracking Data With Questionnaires.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Observational
- Ecological momentary assessment in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: A mixed-methods feasibility study.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2025Article
- Longitudinal and daily associations between adolescent self-control and digital technology use.Developmental psychology · 2023Article
- Frequency and Timing of Sent and Received Alcohol-Related Text Messages: Associations with Alcohol Use and Related Consequences among Adolescents and Young Adults.Substance use & misuse · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe aim of the study was to examine the concurrent and longitudinal associations between adolescents' text messaging frequency and mental health symptoms across 4 years of high school.
methodsA total of 203 adolescents (aged 14-18 years) consented and were provided smartphones across 4 years of high school. Using billing records, daily frequencies of text messaging were created for each year. Adolescents reported on their mental health symptoms (internalizing, externalizing, social problems, and inattention) each summer.
resultsMultilevel analyses tested the between- and within-person associations between texting and mental health symptoms. Between-person analyses revealed an association only between externalizing symptoms and texting. Girls who texted more (vs. less) frequently reported more externalizing and inattention symptoms, whereas there were no significant associations for boys. There were no significant within-person concurrent associations between texting and symptoms. Autoregressive latent cross-lagged model with structured residuals testing the longitudinal, bidirectional associations also did not find significant relations across 4 years of adolescence.
conclusionsAcross analyses, few robust associations emerged. Adolescent girls who text messaged more frequently reported greater externalizing and inattention symptoms. Contrasting the popular narrative that smartphones cause depression, this study did not find any consistent within-person or longitudinal associations between texting and mental health symptoms across adolescence. Research on the content, rather than quantity, of texts and device use is necessary to understand the potential effects on development.
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