ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1554882
Social Media Sharing, Psychological Distress, and Student Well-being: A PLS-SEM and fsQCA Analysis of Chinese College Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhujiang College, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- 4South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
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This study explores the relationship between social media sharing behavior and the mental health and well-being of college students. Based on the Digital Well-being Theory, we applied PLS-SEM and fsQCA to analyze data from 534 students across two time points. Results show that school-related ( β = 0.198, p < 0.05) and social-related (β = 0.234, p < 0.05) social media sharing behaviors positively impact well-being, while work-related sharing (β = 0.247, p < 0.05), though also positive, can increase psychological distress. Psychological distress significantly reduces well-being and mediates the relationship between social media sharing and well-being. However, perceived support effectively moderates this effect, reducing the negative impact of psychological distress on well-being. FsQCA analysis identified multiple combinations of factors leading to higher wellbeing, emphasizing the importance of considering diverse influences(fsQCA coverage = 60.01%).The study provides practical insights for educators, policymakers, and students on using social media to promote mental health and well-being.
Keywords: Social media sharing, psychological distress, students well-being, Digital Wellbeing Theory, PLS-SEM, fsQCA
Received: 03 Jan 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xing, Deng, Shu and Wang. 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: Bo Shu, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
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