Data Sheet 1_Doomscrolling, mental health, and psychological well-being in adolescents and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.pdf

Design-appropriate JBI checklists and GRADE were used for critical appraisal and certainty assessment.</p>Results<p>Forty-four reports representing 44 unique studies were included. Twenty-one studies (23 independent analytic samples) contributed 40 effects to the five primary meta-analyses; the remaining 23 reports contributed narrative or nonprimary quantitative evidence. Doomscrolling was associated with anxiety (r = 0.35, 95% CI 0.27–0.43), depression (r = 0.35, 95% CI 0.16–0.52), psychological distress (r = 0.51, 95% CI 0.37–0.62), lower psychological well-being (r = −0.29, 95% CI − 0.38 to −0.20), and lower life satisfaction (r = −0.25, 95% CI − 0.37 to −0.13).

Heterogeneity was high in every domain; for psychological distress, I² was 86.5% and four of five contributing studies were from Türkiye. Certainty was very low for all five outcomes.</p>Conclusion<p>Doomscrolling is associated with poorer mental-health and well-being outcomes, but the evidence does not establish causality. Cross-sectional designs, high heterogeneity, residual confounding, and geographic concentration limit inference.

Standardized measurement, longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment studies, experiments, and preregistered cross-cultural research are needed.</p>Systematic review registration<p>crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261395295, identifier PROSPERO (CRD420261395295).</p>