Kuo Zhang,1 Peiyu Li,1 Ying Zhao,2 Mark D Griffiths,3 Jingxin Wang,4 Meng Xuan Zhang51Department of Social Psychology, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People’s Republic of China; 2Mental Health Education Center, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225009, People’s Republic of China; 3International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, UK; 4Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Medical Humanities, School of Humanities, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211189, People’s Republic of China
Introduction: The increased research examining social media addiction with its negative consequences has raised concerns over the past decade. However, little research has investigated the association between social media addiction and executive functioning as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship.
Methods: Using a survey, the present study examined the association between social media addiction and executive functioning via emotional disturbance and sleep quality among 1051 Chinese young adults, aged 18 to 27 years old (M=21.02 years [SD=1.89];
34.41% male).
Results: The results showed that social media addiction had a significant negative association with executive functioning but positive associations with emotional disturbance and poor sleep quality. Structural equation modeling suggested that there was a significant direct effect between social media addiction and executive functioning. Indirect effects via two paths (ie, emotional disturbance alone, and both emotional disturbance and sleep quality) were also statistically significant.
Discussion: The findings indicate that both emotional disturbance and poor sleep quality are risk-enhancing mediators in the relationship between social media addiction and executive functioning. Intervention programs (eg, emotional regulation strategies) should be considered to reduce the adverse effects of social media addiction on cognitive impairment among young adults.Keywords: social media addiction, executive functioning, emotional disturbance, sleep quality, young adults.
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