Examining the associations between cyberbullying involvement and psychoeducational factors may contribute to a better understanding of adolescents' experiences in online peer contexts. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between cyberbullying involvement, considering the roles of cybervictim, cyberaggressor, and cyberbystander, and three psychoeducational constructs: social anxiety, school refusal, and academic goals. A total of 1,412 Spanish secondary and upper-secondary school students aged 12-18 years (M = 14.36, SD = 1.65) completed a battery of questionnaires assessing cyberbullying, social anxiety, school refusal, and academic goals. Three independent binary logistic regression models were conducted, one for each cyberbullying role, using the psychoeducational dimensions as predictors. The findings showed that the associations varied according to both the psychoeducational dimension and the cyberbullying role. In particular, Discomfort and avoidance in social situations in general was positively associated with cybervictimization, cyberaggression, and cyberbystanding, whereas other dimensions of social anxiety showed negative associations with some roles. Avoidance of stimuli or situations related to the school context was positively associated with the three cyberbullying roles. Learning and Achievement goals were negatively associated with cybervictimization, cyberaggression, and cyberbystanding, whereas Social reinforcement goals were positively associated with cyberaggression. These findings highlight the multidimensional nature of the associations between psychoeducational factors and cyberbullying involvement and support the consideration of individual and educational variables in the design of prevention and intervention strategies during adolescence.
As multiplayer online games increasingly evolve into prominent social platforms, toxic behavior (TB), a range of negative player interactions, has attracted growing scholarly attention. However, existing research remains fragmented, lacking conceptual clarity and systematic synthesis. Thus, this study conducted a systematic review of 48 empirical studies on TB, examining its definitions, classifications and measurements, correlates, perceived consequences, and coping strategies. This study identified four main approaches to defining TB, including umbrella, subconcept, impact-based approach, and intent-based approach, highlighting form and intent as key dimensions for its classification. The occurrence of TB was related to social beliefs, technological features, game-related experiences, and individual characteristics. It was perceived to harm gaming ecosystems and players’ psychological well-being and may reinforce antisocial attitudes. To combat it, players employ a range of coping strategies, including internally oriented detachment and externally oriented interventions. Finally, this study outlines future research directions and discusses its theoretical and practical implications.
Technology-facilitated sexual violence and abuse (TFSVA) has rapidly emerged as a pervasive form of gender-based violence in Asia, yet regionally grounded syntheses remain scarce. This scoping review systematically reviewed empirical studies on TFSVA in Asian societies, focusing on how cultural contexts and platform ecosystems shape victimization, coping, and governance. Using PRISMA-ScR-consistent procedures, 22 studies published between 2021 and 2025 were identified across databases and analyzed, with all included studies focusing on adult populations. Across studies, TFSVA appears as a continuum of overlapping harms, with image-based abuse and deepfakes generating persistent, networked exposure that extends into mental health distress, social withdrawal, and offline safety risks. Coping strategies are characterized by low-visibility, individualized risk management shaped by stigma and institutional uncertainty, while culture and infrastructure jointly shape harm recognition and help-seeking. The review highlights the need for comparative, platform- and governance-focused research that integrates mental health outcomes and cultural context.
This study examines how public self-consciousness influences anticipatory avatar customization in Korean metaverse platform environments. In Study 1, 50 Korean university students created avatars under four conditions using iFland: free creation, private context, public context, and actual-self representation. Study 2 involved 100 independent raters evaluating the public suitability of freely created avatars. Results revealed that 96 percent created avatars differing from their actual appearance. Counterintuitively, individuals with higher public self-consciousness and agreeableness were significantly less likely to modify avatars for public contexts ( p < 0.05). Study 2 confirmed that unmodified avatars were rated more suitable for public contexts ( p < 0.05), suggesting that socially conscious individuals proactively incorporated appropriateness into initial designs. These preliminary findings suggest that Korean university students’ cultural emphasis on social harmony may shape virtual identity through anticipatory rather than reactive customization, though cross-cultural replication with diverse samples is needed to establish the generalizability of these patterns.
Background: Online social anxiety (OSA), a multidimensional form of social evaluative anxiety in online social contexts, disproportionately affects emerging adults who constitute the largest active group of media users and face heightened psychological sensitivity due to growing pressures and immature sociocognitive regulation during the transition to adulthood. However, its heterogeneity, transitions, and longitudinal associations with mental health outcomes remain underexplored. Methods: This study utilized data from two waves of a three-wave longitudinal survey, with 849 Chinese participants ( Mean age = 21.6 years; 50.4 percent female) assessed at 4-month intervals. Individuals were classified using latent profile analysis and the stability and changes of profiles were assessed via latent transition analysis (LTA). Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted separately at baseline and follow-up to identify correlates of profile membership. Predictors of profile transitions were examined using manual three-step LTA models, and associations between latent transition patterns and follow-up mental health outcomes were examined using BCH-LTA distal outcome analyses controlling for the corresponding baseline symptom level. Results: Four profiles of OSA were identified: low, privacy-sensitive, moderate-high, and high OSA. Extreme profiles (low/high OSA) showed high stability (80.4 percent and 79.1 percent), while privacy-sensitive OSA exhibited the lowest stability (55.1 percent). Profile memberships were influenced by social-cognitive biases and digital interaction, particularly fear of negative evaluation and online interpersonal trust, whereas profile transitions were mainly associated with anxiety. Transitions toward less severe OSA profiles were generally associated with better subsequent mental health, whereas transitions toward more severe profiles corresponded to poorer outcomes, particularly for offline social anxiety. Conclusion: OSA was heterogeneous in its manifestation, severity and transitions. Personalized and early interventions targeting profile-specific vulnerabilities are critical to prevent the worsening of OSA and mitigate its psychological burden.
This study examined bidirectional longitudinal associations between grit dimensions (consistency of interest [CI] and perseverance of effort [PE]) and problematic smartphone use (PSU) and tested cognitive flexibility as a mediating mechanism. A sample of 1,641 Chinese university students (55.2 percent female; Mage = 20.1 years) completed measures at two time points 6 months apart. A four-variable cross-lagged panel model revealed that CI and PSU negatively predicted each other over time, whereas PSU unidirectionally predicted decreased PE. Cognitive flexibility partially mediated the PSU-to-PE pathway (indirect effect = -0.004, 95 percent bootstrap CI [-0.010, -0.0001]). Competing models analysis confirmed this directionality: the forward mediation (PSU → cognitive flexibility → PE) was significant, whereas the reverse was not. These findings demonstrate that grit dimensions exhibit distinct longitudinal patterns with PSU and identify cognitive flexibility as a cognitive mechanism through which PSU specifically undermines effort persistence. Implications for dimensional approaches to grit and targeted interventions are discussed.
The end of a romantic relationship is one of the most emotionally challenging life events. Social media platforms such as Instagram enable users to monitor an ex-partner, a behavior known as Interpersonal Electronic Surveillance (IES), which may complicate coping. This study examined associations with retrospectively reported IES on Instagram during the first 3 weeks post-breakup, focusing on attachment, personality, and breakup-related emotional distress. Previous studies suggest that higher anxious attachment and emotional distress are related to increased monitoring behaviors on Facebook. The present research extends this approach to Instagram, a popular platform among Generation Z, and additionally examines personality factors. Data from N = 232 participants (aged 18-27 years; 84 percent women), who had experienced a breakup within the past year and followed their ex-partner on Instagram, were collected using a cross-sectional online questionnaire. The survey included standardized measures and self-constructed items. Hierarchical regression analyses including breakup-related variables, mediation analyses, and independent-samples t-tests were conducted. Due to extremely low internal consistency, Agreeableness was excluded from inferential analyses. The analyses indicated that Extraversion was the only personality trait directly associated with increased IES. Attachment styles showed no direct associations after emotional distress was included in the model. Emotional distress emerged as the most consistent factor associated with IES, showing patterns consistent with indirect associations involving Neuroticism and anxious attachment, suggesting a central role of emotional distress in post-breakup surveillance behavior. These findings highlight digital monitoring as a potentially maladaptive coping strategy and underscore the importance of addressing social media use in post-breakup adjustment.
Grounded in the I-PACE model, this study examines the mechanisms linking short-video exposure to addiction, specifically investigating the mediating roles of affective and cognitive reactions, and the moderating influence of inhibitory control and addiction status. A large-scale survey (N = 1,274) was used to test a moderated mediation model of addiction, with its core affective and cognitive variables first defined through focus groups with a strategically selected subsample (N = 169) of addicted and nonaddicted users. Results first revealed two distinct user profiles: an addicted group characterized by high emotional involvement and low control, marked by emotional ambivalence and cognitive inconsistency, and a nonaddicted group defined by low emotional involvement and high control. The moderated mediation analysis then uncovered the complex dynamics underlying these profiles. The role of self-regulation was found to be double-edged, profoundly moderated by inhibitory control. For individuals with low inhibitory control, greater use of self-regulatory strategies was associated with higher addiction severity, suggesting a conditional risk pattern consistent with a possible "backfire effect." Conversely, for those with high inhibitory control, such strategies were largely redundant. Furthermore, the pathways to addiction diverged by addiction status. The process for addicted individuals was predominantly driven by the pursuit of positive emotions. In stark contrast, for nonaddicted individuals, the crucial battleground was self-regulation, which functioned as a critical defense, highlighting a vital window for early intervention. Together, these findings underscore the importance of inhibitory control, the double-edged nature of self-regulation, and the primacy of positive affective pathways, thereby refining the I-PACE model and offering targeted insights for prevention and intervention.
The growing prevalence of short video platforms among middle-aged and older adults raises questions about their mental health implications. Using a national survey of 5,039 Chinese adults aged 50 years and above, this study examined how short video use relates to depressive symptoms through competing mechanisms using structural equation modeling. The results showed a dual-path pattern: Short video use was associated with fewer depressive symptoms via more positive attitudes toward aging, but also with increased symptoms via Internet addiction. Moderation analyses indicated that higher levels of Internet addiction were associated with a weaker protective cognitive pathway. Greater diversity in platform use was linked to higher addiction risk and reduced cognitive benefits, suggesting that fragmented engagement may correspond to less favorable psychosocial patterns. Urban-rural differences further indicated that these pathways are context-dependent. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of both behavioral patterns and usage structure in understanding the mental health effects of digital media in later life.
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has expanded the landscape of cyberbullying, necessitating an examination of the psychological and demographic factors underlying these behaviors. This two-wave longitudinal study (N = 1,019) investigated the associations between Dark Tetrad, gender, age, and GAI-involved cyberbullying (GAICB) over a 6-month interval. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that psychopathy and male gender were longitudinal predictors of GAICB at Time 2, even after controlling for baseline behaviors at Time 1. While sadism was significant in the baseline model, its effect became nonsignificant after accounting for prior GAICB. Machiavellianism, narcissism, and age showed no significant effects. These results suggest that psychopathy and gender may be associated with AI-driven aggression, warranting further research into targeted prevention strategies.
Virtual reality (VR)-based mirror exposure therapies (VR-MET) are widely used for the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). However, their effectiveness may depend on how much patients perceive a virtual body as their own, a phenomenon known as the full-body illusion (FBI). This study examined FBI levels and their clinical correlates in adolescents with AN, a key developmental period in the disorder. Forty-nine female adolescents with AN were immersed in a VR environment and embodied in avatars reflecting their own body shape and weight through visuomotor and visuo-tactile stimulation. The FBI was assessed using both unidimensional measures and a multidimensional embodiment questionnaire. Correlation analyses and multiple linear regressions were conducted to explore associations between FBI components and AN-related variables, including body mass index, body dissatisfaction, body anxiety, state anxiety, and fear of gaining weight (FGW). Results showed significant negative correlations between body anxiety and FGW and FBI, particularly its unidimensional and ownership components, with FGW explaining 28.1 percent of FBI variance. Consistent with the Allocentric Lock hypothesis, these findings suggest that adolescents with AN may rely more strongly on stored, distorted body representations than on immediate multisensory evidence (sight, touch, and proprioception), creating a cognitive barrier to virtual ownership and potentially limiting VR-MET effectiveness during adolescence. Future research should incorporate more diverse samples—including different ages and genders—to further clarify the clinical role of embodiment processes in VR-based interventions.
Parasocial relationships (PRs), one-sided imaginary relationships with media personae, have only recently been explored in the video gaming context, where they appear to influence players' thoughts and behaviors. They are often assumed to arise from less connection and greater social frustrations in day-to-day life, but this hypothesis has not been empirically tested. Furthermore, no study has considered potential differences in interpersonal difficulties that players with PRs may have compared to those without PRs. The present study addresses these gaps using online data from 584 video gamers (Mage = 24.98, SD = 5.70; 81.6 percent male) recruited from various Reddit gaming communities. Participants completed measures assessing interpersonal difficulties (e.g., vindictiveness, social avoidance, exploitableness, nonassertiveness), satisfaction and frustration needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, as well as problematic video gaming (PVG) and video gaming motivations. Results did not support the relatedness frustration stereotype in that players with and without PRs did not differ in connection to others or feeling rejected in their day-to-day life. However, compared to players without PRs, players with PRs report greater interpersonal difficulties. Thus, PRs do not appear to compensate for relatedness frustration. Rather, it may be that individuals with PRs may experience interpersonal difficulties leading them to turn to PRs to fulfill social needs. Additional findings include players with PRs reporting greater hours of video gaming as well as more severe PVG and stronger fantasy gaming motives. These findings are discussed within the context of broader literature, and avenues for further study are provided.
Short video platforms have become immensely popular among adolescents. Adolescence is a crucial developmental period with distinct stages (early, middle, late); each stage is influenced by unique psychological, physiological, and social dynamics. While prior studies primarily focus on negative impacts of problematic short video use (PSVU) on adolescents, the age-specific characteristics of PSVU remain obscure, which is important for effective prevention and intervention. This study utilized network analysis to investigate the central symptoms and network structure of PSVU across early, middle, and late adolescence. The data were collected from a large sample of 48,489 adolescents using a modified 6-item Facebook addiction scale. Results indicated that tolerance and withdrawal were consistently among the most central symptoms across all adolescent stages, with tolerance showing the highest centrality overall. Furthermore, a distinct third central symptom emerged for each stage: salience in early, mood change in middle, and conflict in late adolescence. Global network strength increased from early to middle adolescence and again from middle to late adolescence, suggesting a deepening of addictive patterns with age. The significant age-specific differences in symptom connectivity were also identified. This study provides the first network analysis of PSVU across distinct adolescent developmental stages. The tolerance and withdrawal emerged as the common top two central symptoms across the distinct adolescent developmental stages, indicating that PSVU operates consistently within existing behavioral addiction frameworks, functioning as a specific and highly immersive manifestation of problematic Internet use. Meanwhile, unique age-specific characteristics throughout adolescence underscore the necessity of tailoring prevention and intervention strategies for the specific developmental phase of adolescents.
The perception of hostility in online contexts is closely associated with the occurrence of online aggression. Compared to traditional methods that rely on self-report or behavioral analysis, ERP allows for real-time, objective capture of neural responses to emotional stimuli, making it especially suited to reveal the immediate processing of hostility expectation violations. By creating distinct social contexts, we examined participants' brain responses to violations of hostility expectations in text-based communications, both with and without emojis. The results indicated that in the absence of emojis, violations of hostility expectations triggered a significant negative deflection in the N400 waveform, reflecting a heightened neural response to perceived hostility. In contrast, when emojis were present, this negative neural response was substantially reduced, suggesting that emojis play a key role in mitigating hostile attributions and fostering positive social interactions. These findings not only highlight the important function of emojis in online communication from a neuroscience perspective, demonstrating their ability to effectively reduce hostility attribution and potential conflicts in digital interactions, but also provide new empirical evidence for understanding the emotional regulation mechanisms of nonverbal cues in digital environments and improving the quality of online interactions.
