Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 2;22(1):57.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph22010057.

A Multi- Mediation Analysis on the Impact of Social Media and Internet Addiction on University and High School Students' Mental Health Through Social Capital and Mindfulness

Girum Tareke Zewude  1 , Tarikuwa Natnael  2 , Getachew Tassew Woreta  1 , Anmut Endalkachew Bezie  3
Affiliations

A Multi- Mediation Analysis on the Impact of Social Media and Internet Addiction on University and High School Students' Mental Health Through Social Capital and Mindfulness

Girum Tareke Zewude et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Social media addiction (SMA) and internet addiction (IA) are increasingly prevalent, impacting mental health (MH) globally. This study investigates the mediating roles of mindfulness and social capital (SC) in the relationship between SMA, IA, and MH among Ethiopian high school and university students, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of good health and well-being.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1160 university and 1473 high school students in Dessie, Ethiopia. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing SMA, IA, mindfulness, SC, and MH. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with a multi- mediation Model (SMM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Results: SEM revealed that both SMA and IA had a direct negative effect on mindfulness, SC, and MH in in both high school and university students. Notably, mindfulness and SC significantly and positively predicted MH, indicating their protective role against the negative effects of SMA and IA. Furthermore, both mindfulness or SC fully or partially mediated the relationship between SMA, IA, and MH, highlighting their crucial role in explaining the association.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the crucial roles of mindfulness and SC in buffering the negative effects of SMA and IA on MH among Ethiopian students. The findings highlight the need for educational and health interventions that foster mindfulness and SC to enhance student mental health and promote a healthy digital environment. These results offer valuable insights for educators, health professionals, and policymakers in Ethiopia and other developing countries facing similar challenges.

Keywords: internet addiction; mental health; mindfulness; multi- mediation analysis; social capital; social media addiction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 2
Figure 2
Output of the partial mediation model to explain the association between the social media addiction, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of university students.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Output of the partial mediation model to explain the association between the social media addiction, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of high school students.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Output of the partial mediation model to explain the association between the Internet Addiction, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of university students.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Output of the partial mediation model to explain the association between the internet addiction, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of high school students.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Output of complete multi-mediation model to explain the association between SMA, IA, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of university students.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Output of Full multi-mediation model to explain the association between SMA, IA, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health of high school students.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed Full multi-mediation model to explain the association between social media addiction, internet addiction, social capital, mindfulness, and mental health. Note. The figure illustrates the proposed associations among the constructs in the theoretical model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Jin Y., Austin L.L. Social Media and Crisis Communication. Routledge; New York, NY, USA: 2022. - DOI
    1. Carr C.T., Hayes R.A. Social media: Defining, developing, and divining. Atl. J. Commun. 2015;23:46–65. doi: 10.1080/15456870.2015.972282. - DOI
    1. Fathi A., Sadeghi S., Maleki Rad A.A., Sharifi Rahnmo S., Rostami H., Abdolmohammadi K. The role of cyberspace uses on lifestyle promoting health and coronary anxiety in young people. Iran. J. Psychiatry Clin. Psychol. 2020;26:332–347. doi: 10.32598/ijpcp.26.3415.1. - DOI
    1. Tsang E.W., Yuen C.C.Y., Lau J.C.M., Ma V.W.K., Wat M.T.H., Yu J.Y.Y., Privitera A.J., Chung R.C.K., Chan C.C.H. Influences of Lifestyle Profiles and Problematic Internet Use on Mental Distress in University Students. Psychol. Studies. 2024;69:81–91. doi: 10.1007/s12646-023-00766-y. - DOI
    1. Zhao L. Social Media Addiction and Its Impact on College Students’ Academic Performance: The Mediating Role of Stress. Asia-Pac. Educ. Res. 2023;32:81–90. doi: 10.1007/s40299-021-00635-0. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources