The Turkish journal of pediatrics · 2026
Problematic social media use and eating behaviors in adolescence: gender-based differences.
СтатьяНазвание и аннотация: Перевод пока не подготовлен
Обработка статьи · этапы, ошибки и управление
Загрузка состояния…
Ошибки и ограничения
История · было → стало
Состояние обновляется каждые 5 секунд, пока блок открыт. Процент показывается только там, где известен объём работы. Пауза останавливает продолжение этапа; текущий запрос к источнику может завершиться.
Başar Gökcen Büşra, Varol Ozan Fırat
Аннотация
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a key period for shaping eating behaviors. Social media, central to identity formation and peer interaction, may influence diet through appearance-related mechanisms, with possible gender differences. This study investigated associations between social media use, addiction, and disorder with eating behaviors among Turkish adolescents, focusing on the mediating role of appearance-related social media consciousness.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 487 high school students aged 14-18 years in Manavgat, Antalya, Türkiye. Measures included the Social Media Addiction Scale for Adolescents (SMASA), Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS), Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale (ASMC), Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behavior (SESMEB) and Eating Habits Questionnaire for Adolescents (EHQA). Non-parametric tests were used due to non-normal data distributions; gender-stratified multiple regression models identified independent predictors of unhealthy eating habits. Simple mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 4) were performed to test indirect effects, as mediation models allow evaluation of whether ASMC explains the pathway between social media-related variables and unhealthy eating.
RESULTS: Female adolescents reported longer daily social media use than males (median = 3.0 vs. 2.0 hours, p < 0.05). Across genders, healthy eating (EHQA) was negatively correlated with ASMC and SESMEB (all p < 0.01). Regression analyses showed that SMDS, ASMC, and SESMEB were significant predictors of unhealthy eating among females, while ASMC and SESMEB predicted unhealthy eating among males. Mediation analyses showed partial mediation in females in both models (SMASA → ASMC → EHQA; SMDS → ASMC → EHQA), with both direct and indirect effects being significant. In males, direct effects were non-significant, whereas indirect effects were significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Problematic social media use was associated with unhealthy eating among adolescents. In females, both direct and indirect (appearance-related social media consciousness-mediated) effects were observed, whereas in males the association was indirect only. Gender-specific psychological mechanisms should be considered in developing interventions to promote healthier digital engagement and eating behaviors in adolescence.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 487 high school students aged 14-18 years in Manavgat, Antalya, Türkiye. Measures included the Social Media Addiction Scale for Adolescents (SMASA), Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS), Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale (ASMC), Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behavior (SESMEB) and Eating Habits Questionnaire for Adolescents (EHQA). Non-parametric tests were used due to non-normal data distributions; gender-stratified multiple regression models identified independent predictors of unhealthy eating habits. Simple mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 4) were performed to test indirect effects, as mediation models allow evaluation of whether ASMC explains the pathway between social media-related variables and unhealthy eating.
RESULTS: Female adolescents reported longer daily social media use than males (median = 3.0 vs. 2.0 hours, p < 0.05). Across genders, healthy eating (EHQA) was negatively correlated with ASMC and SESMEB (all p < 0.01). Regression analyses showed that SMDS, ASMC, and SESMEB were significant predictors of unhealthy eating among females, while ASMC and SESMEB predicted unhealthy eating among males. Mediation analyses showed partial mediation in females in both models (SMASA → ASMC → EHQA; SMDS → ASMC → EHQA), with both direct and indirect effects being significant. In males, direct effects were non-significant, whereas indirect effects were significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Problematic social media use was associated with unhealthy eating among adolescents. In females, both direct and indirect (appearance-related social media consciousness-mediated) effects were observed, whereas in males the association was indirect only. Gender-specific psychological mechanisms should be considered in developing interventions to promote healthier digital engagement and eating behaviors in adolescence.