On a new path: Social support,social media engagement,and well-being after religious disaffiliation

Abstract

How do social support and the use of social media contribute to mental health and resilience among those who are pursuing a new path of identity and life? Those who exit ultra-Orthodox Judaism often struggle with loss of social support while simultaneously increasing their use of social media. We conducted a cross-cultural survey among 1146 individuals who left ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Our findings show that escapist and avoidant coping through social media correlated with more negative mental health outcomes, while using social media to problem solve and perceiving oneself as giving and receiving social support correlated with more positive outcomes. Resilience negatively associated with escapist and avoidant styles of coping through social media. Some aspects of perceived social support had positive associations with resilience. These findings shed light on potentially helpful mechanisms for using social media among marginalized communities, specifically those who exit high-cost religious communities.