Social Media Use and Happiness in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Social media (SM) use by adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not well understood. Co-occurring mental health concerns, such as depression, are common for adults with ASD. The current investigation explored the relationship between SM use and happiness in a population of adults with self-disclosed ASD. Of the 84 percent of the sample who used SM, those who used Facebook, the most popular site, were happier than those who did not. The same relationship did not exist for the second most popular site, Twitter. Happiness and SM use showed a quadratic relationship: Happiness and SM use increased together until they reached a point where happiness fell off. SM use by adults with ASD, specifically Facebook use in moderation, may enhance well-being and may be a protective factor against secondary mental health concerns common in this population.

Social Group Stories in the Media and Child Development.

How do children and youth come to understand what it means to be a member of a particular race, gender, and other social groups? How do they come to hold beliefs about the groups that they do and do not belong to? Both news stories and fictional narratives that we are tuned into as a culture tell stories about what it means to be a member of a particular social group. In this review article, we relate the latest scientific knowledge on news and entertainment media representations of race, gender and other social categories and what they tell us about how these messages are taken in and processed by developing minds. We include research on identity development, social learning about members of other groups, and both positive and negative behavioral outcomes to cultural messages about race, gender, and other social categories. We offer recommendations for stakeholders to understand the role of the media in educating youth about race, gender and other social categories.

Setting the Stage for Social Change: Using Live Theater to Dispel Myths About Intimate Partner Violence.

Research has demonstrated the ability of fictional narratives to educate about social and health issues. Although some entertainment-education efforts have used live theater as a mechanism for social change, very few use social science methods to demonstrate exposure effects. This project used live theater to increase understanding and knowledge about intimate partner violence, a pervasive and costly social and health problem. Audiences watched either a play about abusive relationships-emphasizing psychological abuse and the role of coercion and control-or a control play. Compared with controls, those who watched the abuse play were more knowledgeable and less accepting of myths about abusive relationships in a way that mirrored play content. Although both plays were highly transporting, transportation did not explain a significant amount of variance in the attitudes toward intimate partner violence. These results provide rare evidence for theater as a tool for social change.