Problematic social media use in adolescents: Latent profile analysis and associations with mental health outcomes.

BACKGROUND

Problematic social media use (PSMU) is a prevalent behavioral concern among adolescents and is closely linked to a range of adverse mental health outcomes. This study aimed to explore the heterogeneous structure of PSMU in Chinese adolescents using latent profile analysis (LPA), and to investigate differences in demographic characteristics, peer victimization, and psychological and sleep outcomes across latent profiles.

METHODS

A total of 51,219 middle and high school students participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants completed self-report questionnaires including the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS). LPA was conducted to identify distinct PSMU subgroups. Chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied to examine group differences.

RESULTS

A three-profile solution was selected as optimal based on model fit indices (AIC, BIC, SABIC), entropy, and bootstrapped likelihood ratio test (BLRT). The three profiles represented a gradient of PSMU severity: low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk (accounting for 10.50% of the sample). Depression, anxiety, peer victimization, and sleep disturbance all increased monotonically with rising PSMU risk, demonstrating a robust dose-response relationship. All between-profile differences were statistically significant (all p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent PSMU exhibits a continuous three-level risk spectrum rather than discrete categorical subtypes. Mental health burden increases consistently with the severity of PSMU. These findings support the continuous model of problematic online behaviors and provide empirical support for stratified screening and targeted intervention strategies for adolescent PSMU.