Psychological distress, social media use, and academic performance of medical students: The mediating role of coping style

Abstract

Abstract Background Given that social media use is an increasingly widespread activity among university students, more information is needed to evaluate its potential implications for students’ mental health. Objective The present study assessed the effect of interaction between coping style and social media use on psychological distress and academic performance among medical students. Methods A total of 400 undergraduate students from a large Iranian medical university participated in the study. A self-administered survey was used to collect data on demographics, negative emotional states (DASS-21), coping strategies (Brief COPE scale), academic performance (by grade point average) and estimated average time spent on social media per day. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine relationships between the study variables. Results Psychological distress was common among medical students, with depressed mood being the most common (44%). Based on DASS-21 scores, students with higher levels of psychological distress were more likely to be engaged in frequent social media use. More than two hours per day social media use showed positive association with maladaptive coping (p < 0.001) (particularly with self-distraction and behavioral disengagement components) but no significant association with adaptive coping (p = 0.876). No significant associations were found between psychological distress and average time spent on social media use with students’ academic performance. Mediation analysis showed that the effect of social media use on students’ psychological distress was totally mediated by maladaptive coping. Conclusion The findings suggest that social media use influences students’ emotional states indirectly through their coping style. It may act as a maladaptive approach to cope with mental distress mostly via self-distraction and behavior disengagement.