Associations Between Social Appearance Anxiety, Problematic Social Media Use, Selfitis Behavior, and Adaptable Self: A Moderated-Mediation Model* Asocijacije između anksioznosti zbog društvenog izgleda, problematične upotrebe društvenih medija, selfitisnog ponašanja i prilagodljivog sebe: model moderirane medijacije

Özok H. İ., Kaya A., Dinçer R. E., Yıldırım M.

Psihologija, cilt.59, sa.1, ss.93-109, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 59 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.2298/psi231025014o
  • Dergi Adı: Psihologija
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.93-109
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: adaptable self, anksioznost društvenog izgleda, prilagodljivo ja, problematic social media use, problematično korišćenje društvenih medija, selfitis behavior, selfitis ponašanje, social appearance anxiety
  • Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between social appearance anxiety, problematic social media use (PSMU), selfitis behavior, and adaptable self through the application of a moderated-mediation model. In total, 804 social media users from Türkiye (Mage = 30.45 ± 8.12; 61.9% women) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, Presentation of Online Self Scale, and Selfitis Behavior Scale. A parallel mediation model indicated that social appearance anxiety predicted PSMU. Further, selfitis behaviors and adaptable self mediated the effects of social appearance anxiety on PSMU. Lastly, adaptable self-moderated the relationship between social appearance anxiety and selfitis behaviors. The study suggests that social appearance anxiety can be considered a risk factor, and the adaptable self and selfities behavior may mitigate the effect of social media appearance anxiety on problematic social media use. These findings can inform the development of interventions and preventive strategies to reduce the psychopathological effects of social media addiction.