Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Prevalence of stress references on college freshmen Facebook profiles
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53705, USA. kgegan@wisc.edu
Abstract:
Stress is common among college students and associated with adverse health outcomes. This study used the social networking Web site Facebook to identify self-reported stress and associated conditions among college students. Public Facebook profiles of undergraduate freshman at a large Midwestern State University (n = 300) were identified using a Facebook search. Content analysis of Facebook profiles included demographic information and displayed references to stress, weight concerns, depressive symptoms, and alcohol. The mean reported age was 18.4 years, and the majority of profile owners were female (62%). Stress references were displayed on 37% of the profiles, weight concerns on 6%, depressive symptoms on 24%, and alcohol on 73%. The display of stress references was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.81; confidence interval [CI], 1.7-4.7), weight concerns (OR, 5.36; CI, 1.87-15.34), and depressive symptoms (OR, 2.7; CI, 1.57-4.63). No associations were found between stress and alcohol references. College freshmen frequently display references to stress on Facebook profiles with prevalence rates similar to self-reported national survey data. Findings suggest a positive association between referencing stress and both weight concerns and depressive symptoms. Facebook may be a useful venue to identify students at risk for stress-related conditions and to disseminate information about campus resources to these students.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological Responses to Stress
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
General State of Stress
Specifically, consider a tetrahedral element where one face, labeled XYZ, is perpendicular to the line OA, and the remaining faces align with the coordinate axes with point O as the origin. At any point, such as point O, the stress tensor can be used to determine the stress...
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Components of Stress
Interestingly, the hidden cube faces also experience these stresses, equal and opposite to those on the...
Types of Stressors
Catastrophes
Catastrophes refer to large-scale, unpredictable events that create overwhelming stress and a sense of threat. Examples include natural disasters like...
