The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in youth

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in university students and to test the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between these two variables. The sample of the study consisted of 239 young individuals, 197 (82.4%) female, and 42 (17.6%) males, with a mean age of 20.62 ± 1.92 years, studying at a private university. Participants were evaluated by administering the "Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)", "Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD-9)", and "Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS)". The scales were administered via an online survey. Results revealed that there was a negative significant relationship between the problematic social media use levels of the participants and their self-esteem. In the model established to evaluate the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem levels, in the first step, it was found that problematic social media use directly predicted self-esteem negatively. In the second step, it was determined that the use of problematic social media negatively predicted the mediating variable cognitive distortions. In the third step, when cognitive distortions, which are mediator variables, are added to the model in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem; it was determined that cognitive distortions played a partial mediating role in the sub-dimensions of "self-percept...
Source: Cognitive Processing - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: research