The Structural Relationships between Family Functioning, Positive Development, Psychological Distress and Social Media Addiction with the Mediating of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Adolescents

Background. The addiction to social networks poses serious risks to the lives and well-being of adolescents. This study aimed to create a model of social media addiction that takes into account family dynamics, positive development, and psychological distress, with cognitive emotion regulation strategies acting as mediators among adolescents. Methods. This descriptive-correlational study included adolescents aged 15-18 years during the 2022–2023 educational year in Tabriz schools. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select the adolescents. Data were collected using the social network addiction scale (SNAS), the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ), the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS), the positive youth development-via strengths family scale (PYD-VSF), and the McMaster family assessment device (FAD). Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted using SPSS and LISREL software. Results. A strong positive correlation was found between positive youth development and effective emotion regulation strategies. Conversely, there was a notable negative correlation between dysfunctional family dynamics and effective emotion regulation strategies. Psychological distress was directly linked to ineffective emotion regulation strategies. Additionally, a significant direct connection was identified between psychological distress and social media addiction. There was also a notable relationship between dysfunctional family dynamics and social media addiction. The results from the structural equation modeling indicated a strong fit for the proposed model. Specifically, healthy family dynamics were positively correlated with effective cognitive emotion regulation strategies (t = 2.44, γ = 0.17), while dysfunctional family dynamics showed a negative correlation with these strategies (t = -4.74, γ = -0.43). In conclusion, psychological distress and dysfunctional family dynamics are predictors of social media addiction, with cognitive emotion regulation strategies serving as a mediating factor. Improving emotional self-regulation through better family dynamics and addressing psychological distress can help safeguard adolescents from addiction to the Internet and social media. Conclusion. Psychological distress and unhealthy family functioning predict social media addiction, mediated by cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Enhancing emotional self-regulation through family functioning and addressing psychological distress can protect adolescents from Internet and social media addiction.