University of Twente Student Theses
As of Friday, 8 August 2025, the current Student Theses repository is no longer available for thesis uploads. A new Student Theses repository will be available starting Friday, 15 August 2025.
The Relationship Between Online Dating and Adult Well-Being : A Scoping Review
Esbach, D.G. (2025) The Relationship Between Online Dating and Adult Well-Being : A Scoping Review.
|
PDF
902kB |
| Abstract: | Previous research suggests online dating apps may negatively affect adults' mental health, but gaps remain regarding which aspects of well-being are impacted. This scoping review explores the relationship between online dating and adult emotional, psychological, and social well-being. We systematically reviewed empirical articles from Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science (1995–2024) assessing these well-being dimensions. We extracted study characteristics (e.g., population, sample size, app usage) and assessed quality using CASP checklists. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, mainly from Western countries and published in the past six years. Most studies focused on the general population, with some examining minority groups, using qualitative and cross-sectional methods. Emotional well-being was the most studied dimension, followed by psychological and social well-being, with mixed but mainly non-significant findings. While many studies found no significant effects on self-esteem or emotional states, others highlighted negative outcomes like increased loneliness, especially in minority groups. Overall, online dating showed non-significant associations with well-being for the general population, but notable differences existed for marginalized groups. However, the findings may be incomplete or biased due to limited well-being subdimensions, and resource constraints. Future research should focus on cultural contexts and underrepresented well-being dimensions to improve validity. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/104966 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page