Page 45 - Never Too Far Away? The Roles of Social Network Sites in Sojourners’ Adjustment
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                                affects another (e.g., outcome), which in turn, affects the one in the beginning (e.g., media use). Meng et al. (2017) considered the directionality of effects as a critical gap in research, stating that “it remains unclear as to whether SNS impacts social support (...) or if social support shapes use of SNSs, or both” (p. 49). In this study, we aimed to test the reciprocal associations between interactions and perceived social support, and clarify the direction of influence. Thus, we asked:
RQ1a&b: What are the associations between Facebook interaction with the host- country network and perceived social support?
RQ2a&b: What are the associations between Facebook interaction with the home- country network and perceived social support?
RQ3: Does perceived social support predict FtF interaction with the host-country network?
Perceived social support and depression
Previous research on cross-cultural adjustment provided strong support for the positive impact of perceived social support on psychological adjustment (Adelman, 1988; Berry, 2006; Cemalcilar, 2008; Mikal et al., 2013; Trepte & Scharkow, 2016; Ward et al., 2001; Ye, 2006). Moreover, research on social support and depression provides evidence on their possible reciprocal associations: Higher levels of social support predicted fewer depressive symptoms; while fewer depressive symptoms predicted higher levels of social support (Burns, Deschênes, & Schmitz, 2015; Pettit, Roberts, Lewinsohn, Seeley, & Yaroslavsky, 2011). Thus, we expected these reciprocal effects:
H2: Higher perceived social support predicts fewer depressive symptoms.
H3: A greater number of depressive symptoms predicts lower perceived social support.
Long-term versus short-term reciprocal associations
One crucial factor to consider in testing the model in Figure 1 is the time lag. There exist neither established nor compelling theoretical bases for the timing of assessments (in terms of intervals between waves) of interactions and perceived social support, or perceived social support and depressive symptoms. In this study, we used a longitudinal design with an interval of three months between measurements, consistent with a previous longitudinal study on student sojourners (Hechanova-Alampay, Beehr, Christiansen, & Van Horn, 2002). The longitudinal design is helpful in providing a clearer interpretation of relational impacts and
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