Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Feb 2024)

An Analysis of the Latent Class and Influencing Factors of Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Among Chinese College Students

  • Pi L,
  • Wang Y,
  • Zou L,
  • Mo X,
  • Guo L

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 367 – 378

Abstract

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Luyang Pi,1 Yu Wang,1 Lirong Zou,1 Xinxin Mo,2 Leilei Guo3 1College of Humanities and Law, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Education Science, Guangdong Preschool Normal College in Maoming, Maoming, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Marxism, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Leilei Guo, Email [email protected]: To explore the potential classification of Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage (PMSMU) in Chinese college students, analyze whether there is group heterogeneity in PMSMU, and discuss the differences in the latent profile of PMSMU in fear of missing out, online positive feedback, and boredom proneness.Methods: A total of 2591 Chinese college students were investigated using the Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Questionnaire, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Scale, Online Positive Feedback Scale and Short-form Boredom Proneness Scale, and heterogeneity was tested by latent profile analysis.Results: The PMSMU of college students can be divided into three latent profiles: no-problem use group (26.44%), mild problem use group (56.66%), and severe problem use group (16.91%). Male students, as compared to female students, showed a significantly lower likelihood of being classified as mild problematic users (OR=0.50, p< 0.001) and severe problematic users (OR=0.29, p< 0.001). Additionally, students with higher levels of FOMO, a stronger craving for online positive feedback, and increased boredom proneness are more likely to belong to the severe problematic use group (OR=2.91, p< 0.001; OR=1.42, p< 0.01; OR=8.72, p< 0.001).Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the factors influencing the heterogeneity of individual PMSMU. Specifically, female college students and those with a higher fear of missing out, greater susceptibility to boredom, and a stronger craving for positive online feedback are more likely to exhibit severe PMSMU. These findings provide valuable empirical evidence for developing preventive strategies to address PMSMU among college students.Keywords: problematic mobile social media usage, latent profile analysis, fear of missing out, online positive feedback, boredom proneness

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