ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1608527
Social appearance anxiety and body checking behavior in the relationship between social media addiction and depressive symptoms among college students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, China
- 2Qingdao Huanghai University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
- 3Yantai Disease Prevention and Control Center, Yantai, Shandong Province, China
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Background: The relationship between social media addiction and depressive symptoms has been extensively studied; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This study examined the mediating roles of social appearance anxiety and body checking behaviors in this relationship. This research aims to address the gap in understanding how social media addiction influences mental health, particularly among college students. Methods: Data from 1,456 students recruited from three universities in Shandong, China, were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Demographic characteristics of the participants were collected and assessed for social appearance anxiety, body checking behaviors, social media addiction, and depressive symptoms. Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 13.9% in the study sample. Social appearance anxiety, body checking behavior, and social media addiction were significantly and positively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = 0.367 - 0.519, p < 0.001). Social media addiction directly and positively predicted depressive symptoms with a direct effect value of 0.173. Furthermore, social appearance anxiety and body checking behavior played independent and serial multiple mediating roles in the association between social media addiction and depressive symptoms, with indirect effect values of 0.193, 0.035, and 0.235, respectively. Conclusion: Social media addiction is a significant risk factor contributing to depressive symptoms among college students. This study provides new insight into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between social media addiction and mental health, with implications for global mental health interventions. Specifically, the negative impact of social media addiction is mediated by social appearance anxiety and body checking behavior. These findings suggest that school administrators and policymakers should develop targeted interventions to reduce social media addiction among college students and prioritize providing psychological support to alleviate social appearance anxiety and promote a healthy body image. By addressing these factors, this research contributes to a broader understanding of mental health challenges in the digital age.
Keywords: Social media addiction, depressive symptoms, Social appearance anxiety, body checking behavior, college students
Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wang, Yang, Li and Fu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chang Fu, Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, China
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