Delta-Beta Coupling and Digital Media Use as Predictors of Anxiety in Adolescence

Funder: Society for Research in Child Development
Administered in: College of the Liberal Arts

Abstract:

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of psychopathology, with symptom onset peaking in adolescence. Over the past several decades, the social world of teens has been transformed by pervasive digital media use (DMU; e.g., social media, messaging apps). Adolescence is a critical period of social-emotional development, particularly regarding neural maturation underlying emotion regulation (ER), the implicit and explicit processes by which we manage emotions, and a major predictor of anxiety.

Aim 1 will examine associations between delta-beta coupling measured via mobile EEG headset (Emotiv Insight), emotional state, and digital media used during a lab-based self-guided use session. We will examine whether higher delta-beta coupling during digital media use mediates increases in state anxiety after vs before the session. We will examine whether self-report and passive-sensing of digital activities during the session mediates changes in delta-beta coupling and state anxiety.

Aim 2 will examine how links among delta-beta coupling, digital media use, and anxiety change longitudinally across one year.