Examining the mediating roles of self-esteem and social support in the link between digital addiction and mental health: findings from a meta-analytic structural equation modeling study.

INTRODUCTION

In their constantly digitalizing environments, adolescents and university students become more vulnerable to digital addiction and related mental health problems. Existing evidence has shown that perceived social support and self-esteem are significant psycho-social factors influencing their tendency to experience digital addiction and mental health problems. However, studies investigating the interrelationships between these constructs are limited in number despite their growing significance for this cohort of individuals.

METHODS

This study aims to test a proposed research model using meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) analysis in order to reveal the multifaceted relationships between these significant constructs. The study particularly addresses the mediating role of perceived social support and self-esteem in the relationship between digital addiction and mental health. Analyses were made by using correlation coefficients retrieved from a total of 182 studies accumulating a total sample of 111.798 participants.

RESULTS

The results showed that digital addiction of late-adolescents and university students was statistically associated with their mental health both directly and indirectly through perceived social support and self-esteem.

DISCUSSION: By testing an integrated model of psychological and behavioral factors within a single exploratory framework, the study provided an original contribution to the literature and suggested significant implications for incentives to be designed not only to support young people's effective use of digital technologies but to protect their mental health through strengthening their social ties and self-esteem.