The Relationships between Perceived Stress, Inadequacy, Self-control and SNS Addiction Tendency in University Students

Background: This study examined the mediating effects of inadequacy and self-control in the relationship between perceived stress and tendency of addiction to Social Networking Sites (SNS). Methods: Data were collected from 303 university students who completed a survey to measure perceived stress, SNS addiction tendency, shame and self-control. The mediating effect was analyzed and testing of the structural equation model was done using PROCESS macro and AMOS. Results: The main results were as follows. First, it was found that perceived stress affected SNS addiction tendency by partially mediating both inadequacy and self-control. Second, a significant multiple mediator model was observed through the sequential process of inadequacy as well as self-control. This sequential process fully mediated the relationship between perceived stress and SNS addiction tendency. Conclusions: The results suggest the need to address inadequacy and self-control in the management of stress and SNS addiction among university students.