Research Article: The relationship between parental academic upward social comparison perception and short video addiction in junior high school students
Abstract:
This study used a cross-sectional design and analyzed the relationship between parental academic upward social comparison perception (PAUSCP) and short video addiction (SVA) among junior high school students in Jiangsu Province, China, and explored the mediation of negative core self-evaluation (NCSE) and fear of failure (FOF).
Using a cross-sectional research design, the study administered the parental academic upward social comparison perception scale, core self-evaluation scale, fear of failure scale and the short video addiction scale to 988 junior high school students from two schools in Jiangsu Province in April 2025 using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling to analyze chain mediation.
A total of 47.3% (n = 467) of the participants screened positive for SVA symptoms. The total indirect effect of PAUSCP on SVA through NCSE and FOF was significant (IE = 0.194, 95% CrI [0.158, 0.234]). Specifically, all three mediation pathways were significant: via NCSE alone (IE = 0.142, 95% CrI [0.112, 0.176]), via FOF alone (IE = 0.035, 95% CrI [0.017, 0.056]), and via the sequential chain pathway (IE = 0.017, 95% CrI [0.008, 0.027]).
These findings suggest that higher PAUSCP is concurrently associated with higher SVA symptoms and that NCSE and FOF statistically account for part of this association in the specified model. PAUSCP was associated with SVA among the surveyed junior high school students through the statistical pathways involving NCSE and FOF. These findings may provide guidance for family-based interventions targeting short video addiction among junior high school students.
Introduction:
This study used a cross-sectional design and analyzed the relationship between parental academic upward social comparison perception (PAUSCP) and short video addiction (SVA) among junior high school students in Jiangsu Province, China, and explored the mediation of negative core self-evaluation (NCSE) and fear of failure (FOF).
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