Mediating roles of self-esteem and positive childhood experiences in the relationship between problematic social media use and loneliness

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Ünsal F., Korkmaz Z., Çiçek İ., Abdullah Alshehri N., Mohammed Abdullah Alkhulayfi A., Yıldırım M.

Psicologia: Reflexao e Critica, cilt.38, sa.1, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 38 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1186/s41155-025-00364-z
  • Dergi Adı: Psicologia: Reflexao e Critica
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Fuente Academica Plus, IBZ Online, Psicodoc, Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Childhood experiences, Loneliness, Self-esteem, Social media use
  • Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background: Problematic social media use has been linked to increased loneliness among university students, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Objective: The study examines the mediating roles of self-esteem and positive childhood experiences in the relationship between problematic social media use and loneliness among university students. Methods: A total of 464 university students aged 18 to 28 years (M = 22.71, SD = 2.71; 58% women) participated in the study. Data were collected via an online survey using standardized measures of positive childhood experiences, social media addiction, self-esteem, and loneliness. Results: The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between problematic social media use and loneliness, as well as significant negative associations between problematic social media use and both self-esteem and positive childhood experiences. Mediation analyses indicated that problematic social media use significantly predicted loneliness, accounting for 6% of its variance, while the combined influence of problematic social media use, self-esteem, and positive childhood experiences explained 37% of the variance in loneliness. Notably, both self-esteem and positive childhood experiences partially mediated the relationship between problematic social media use and loneliness. Conclusion: This study provides important evidence for designing and implementing interventions that aim to enhance self-esteem and foster positive childhood experiences to mitigate the negative effects of problematic social media use on loneliness.