Developmental Associations between Adolescent Internet Use and Depression Symptoms: A Causal Modeling Approach

We estimate longitudinal associations between adolescent internet use and depression symptoms (N=1547) between the ages of 13 and 17. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model, stratified by sex revealed that girl’s internet use was longitudinally associated with increased depression symptoms at the within-individual level. Associations were not significant for boys.