@article{ref1,
title="Sad-fishing: understanding a maladaptive social media behavior in college students",
journal="Journal of American college health",
year="2022",
author="Petrofes, Cara and Howard, Krista and Mayberry, Azucena and Bitney, Catherine and Ceballos, Natalie",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: We investigated psychological factors that might predispose individuals to sad-fish or exaggerate their emotional state online to generate sympathy. Participants: Participants (N = 347) were collegiate social media users from a large university in the Southcentral United States. <br><br>METHODS: Participants completed an anonymous online survey and were categorized as sad-fishers or non-sad-fishers. Groups were compared on attachment style and levels of interpersonal and online social support. <br><br>RESULTS: Sad-fishers trended toward anxious attachment. Groups did not differ on perceived interpersonal or online social support. Anxious attachment was significantly negatively associated with interpersonal support. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Sad-fishing may not be triggered by an acute perceived lack of social support, but rather, may be more strongly related to the persistent trait of anxious attachment. This is a starting-point for understanding the relatively new phenomenon of sad-fishing and may aid in discerning how best to clinically intervene with those who sad-fish.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0744-8481",
doi="10.1080/07448481.2022.2132110",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2132110"
}