ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
How Do Core Personality Traits Influence Short Video Dependence among Chinese College Students? Evidence from a Serial Mediation Analysis under the I-PACE Model
Provisionally accepted
- Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
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Background: With the widespread adoption of short videos, college students have developed an unprecedented level of dependence, posing significant challenges to society. Existing research on short-video dependency (SVD) has primarily focused on behavioral symptoms; however, the role of core personality traits (CPT) and their underlying cognitive–emotional mechanisms in predisposing individuals to SVD remains insufficiently understood. Objective: This study aims to examine the relationship between CPT and SVD and to clarify the cognitive-emotional pathways underlying this association by extending the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) framework to include perceived self-relatedness (PSR) as an additional mediator. Methods: Survey data were collected from 825 Chinese undergraduate students. Structural equation modeling was used to test an enhanced serial mediation model incorporating CPT, fear of missing out (FoMO), perceived self-efficacy (PSE), PSR, and SVD. Results: CPT, FoMO, and PSR were correlated with SVD. In contrast, PSE showed an inconsistent mediation pattern, exhibiting a positive bivariate correlation but a negative indirect effect. FoMO, PSE, and PSR significantly mediate the relationship between CPT and SVD. The identification of this inconsistent mediation provides evidence for dual-process competition in short-video use behavior. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the risk of SVD is statistically associated with lower levels of FoMO, higher PSE, and regulating exposure to self-relevant content among students. By highlighting the roles of cognitive and emotional factors, this study advances understanding of the antecedents of SVD and offers theoretical and practical implications for future research and intervention strategies.
Keywords: college students, Fear of missing out, I-PACE model, Perceived self-efficacy, serial mediation, Short-video dependence
Received: 09 Dec 2025; Accepted: 13 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Zhang, Ren, Wu, Shi and Liu. 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: Jinhai Liu
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