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Abstract

While the psychological benefits of social support are well-established, it is also clear that for many
socially anxious individuals, engaging with face-to-face social networks is problematic. This research
examined whether social support derived from an online social network (Facebook) had incremental
value in predicting subjective well-being over and above offline social support in socially anxious and
non-socially anxious individuals. Individuals with high (N = 105) and low (N = 194) social anxiety completed
measures of perceived social support, perceived social support derived from Facebook, and subjective
well-being. For the high social anxiety group, Facebook social support explained a significant amount
of additional variance in subjective well-being, with offline social support failing to contribute significantly
to the model. For the low social anxiety group, Facebook social support did not explain any variance
in well-being over and above offline social support. Possible implications of the utility of Facebook
for socially anxious individuals are discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Grieve, R
Keywords:	Social anxiety Social support Social networking sites Facebook Facebook social support
Journal or Publication Title:	Personality and Individual Differences
ISSN:	0191-8869
DOI / ID Number:	10.1016/j.paid.2013.11.016
Additional Information:	Copyright 2014 Elsevier
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