School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an 710000, China.
Research Centre on College Students Ideological Education and Practice, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710000, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 19;19(9):4937. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19094937.
Aims: Problematic social media use is increasing in China and could be a risk factor for depression. We investigated cross-sectional associations between problematic social media use and depressive outcomes among Chinese college students with potential mediation by perceived social support, social media violence, and loneliness. Thereafter, we evaluated the effectiveness of a one-month group counseling intervention in reducing depressive symptoms related to social media addiction. Methods: Depressive symptoms, social media addiction, perceived social support, social media violence, and loneliness were self-reported among 21,000 college students in Shaanxi province, China. A randomized controlled trial was designed based on the results of the observational study and Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST) among 60 college students assigned to intervention (N = 30) or control/no treatment (N = 30). Self-administered surveys were completed at baseline (T1), at the end of the 1-month intervention (T2), and at 2-month follow-up post-intervention (T3). Results: After controlling for relevant covariates, more problematic social media use was associated with more depressive symptoms (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) and depression (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.075, 1.092). Multiple mediation analyses found that perceived social support, social media violence, and loneliness significantly mediated associations between problematic social media use and depressive symptoms (model fit: RMSEA = 0.065, GFI = 0.984, CFI = 0.982). Bootstrapping revealed significant indirect effects of problematic social media use on depressive symptoms through the mediators named above (0.143, 95% CI: 0.133, 0.156). The subsequently informed intervention significantly reduced depressive symptoms at T2 (mean difference: −12.70, 95% CI: −16.64, −8.76, p < 0.001) and at T3 (mean difference: −8.70, 95% CI: −12.60, −4.80, p < 0.001), as well as levels of social media addiction, perceived social support, social media violence, and loneliness. Conclusions: Problematic social media use is a risk factor for depressive outcomes among Chinese college students, and perceived social support, social media violence, and loneliness mediate this association. STST-based group counseling may reduce depressive symptoms related to high social media usage in this population.
在中国，社交媒体使用问题日益增多，可能成为抑郁的一个风险因素。我们调查了中国大学生中社交媒体使用问题与抑郁结果之间的横断面关联，以及感知社会支持、社交媒体暴力和孤独感的潜在中介作用。此后，我们评估了为期一个月的团体咨询干预对减少与社交媒体成瘾相关的抑郁症状的有效性。
在中国陕西省，21000 名大学生自我报告了抑郁症状、社交媒体成瘾、感知社会支持、社交媒体暴力和孤独感。根据观察性研究的结果和 Satir 转化系统治疗（STST），设计了一项随机对照试验，将 60 名大学生分为干预组（N=30）和对照组/无治疗组（N=30）。在基线（T1）、为期一个月的干预结束时（T2）和干预后 2 个月随访时（T3）完成自我管理的问卷调查。
在控制了相关协变量后，更多的社交媒体使用问题与更多的抑郁症状（β=0.18，p<0.001）和抑郁（OR=1.08，95%CI：1.075，1.092）相关。多重中介分析发现，感知社会支持、社交媒体暴力和孤独感显著中介了社交媒体使用问题与抑郁症状之间的关联（模型拟合：RMSEA=0.065，GFI=0.984，CFI=0.982）。Bootstrapping 显示，通过上述中介，社交媒体使用问题对抑郁症状有显著的间接影响（0.143，95%CI：0.133，0.156）。随后的干预措施显著降低了 T2 时的抑郁症状（平均差异：-12.70，95%CI：-16.64，-8.76，p<0.001）和 T3 时的抑郁症状（平均差异：-8.70，95%CI：-12.60，-4.80，p<0.001），以及社交媒体成瘾、感知社会支持、社交媒体暴力和孤独感的水平。
在中国大学生中，社交媒体使用问题是抑郁结果的一个风险因素，感知社会支持、社交媒体暴力和孤独感中介了这种关联。基于 Satir 转化系统治疗的团体咨询可能会减少这一人群中与高社交媒体使用相关的抑郁症状。
