(PS8-87) Social Media Use Trajectories Among Hispanic & Latinx Family Dementia Caregivers

High levels of stress can have detrimental effects on the mental health of Hispanic & Latinx (H&L) family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Caregivers may turn to social networking sites (SNS, also referred to as "social media") as a coping mechanism or source of social support. However, caregivers’ susceptibility to potential mental health effects (e.g., symptoms of anxiety and depression) associated with SNS use may vary based on their use of SNS. As such, the purpose of this study was to characterize developmental trajectories of SNS use with group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). Data for the present study come from the ongoing “Nuestros Días” (Our Days) study. Participants (n=157) were predominantly female caregivers (88.62%) with an average age of 57.55 years (SD=9.79). Caregivers were asked to complete a baseline questionnaire followed by 21 daily diary surveys reporting on the number of minutes they engaged in daily passive (i.e., consumption of SNS content without active engagement, such as doomscrolling) and active SNS use (i.e., engagement with content and deliberate interaction with other users). Four passive SNS use trajectories were identified: 29.9% of caregivers showed consistently low usage time (about 40 min/day), 28.9% of caregivers exhibited moderate usage time that decreased over time following a curvilinear trend, 24.7% of caregivers showed a steady moderate range usage trajectory (about 120 min/day), and 16.5% of caregivers exhibited increasing use over time that started at a high range. Similarly, three active SNS use trajectories were observed: 30.7% of caregivers steadily reported low active SNS usage (about 4 min/day), 40.5% of caregivers demonstrated decreasing usage over time that began at a moderate range, and 28.8% of caregivers exhibited consistently high usage (about 120 min/day). Findings highlight the nuance of SNS use by identifying different subgroups with shared patterns of behavioral change over time. The heterogeneity among growth trajectories allows for more tailored evaluations of SNS risk factors, enabling a better understanding of their impact on caregivers’ mental health.