ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicHealth and Psychological Adaptations to Life Challenges and Stressful Conditions - Volume IIView all 12 articles
The relationship between digital technostress and cyber moral disengagement among college students: a moderated mediation model of psychological resilience, self-efficacy, and online self-control
Provisionally accepted
- 1Dezhou University, Dezhou, China
- 2Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
- 3The Affiliated Taizhou People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, China
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In the context of the pervasive integration of digital technologies into higher education, concerns regarding their psychological and behavioral implications have intensified. Although existing research has demonstrated an association between digital technostress and behavioral intentions, the specific linkage between digital technostress and cyber moral disengagement, together with the mechanisms through which this relationship operates, remains insufficiently theorized and empirically explored. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study conceptualizes digital technostress as a psychological stressor that shapes individuals' online moral conduct through subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. To examine this process, a moderated multiple mediation model was constructed, focusing on the mediating roles of psychological resilience and self-efficacy in the association between digital technostress and cyber moral disengagement, and the moderating relationship of online self-control. Empirical findings reveal that psychological resilience and self-efficacy not only function as independent mediators but also operate sequentially in explaining the link between digital technostress and cyber moral disengagement. In addition, online self-control moderates the relationships of digital technostress and psychological resilience with respect to cyber moral disengagement. For individuals exhibiting higher levels of online self-control, the aforementioned relationships were substantially weakened. This study advances theoretical understanding of the mechanisms linking digital technostress and cyber moral disengagement, and underscores the pivotal role of online self-control in mitigating cyber moral disengagement among college students.
Keywords: digital technostress, cyber moral disengagement, psychological resilience, self-efficacy, online self-control
Received: 16 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Gao, Hu, Liu and Zhang. 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: Ruyan Hu, huruyan777@163.com
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