The Impact of Problematic Social Media Use on Interpersonal Relationship Distress Among College Students: The Moderating Role of Psychological Capital

Key Points

• To investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and interpersonal relationship distress among college students, and the moderating effect of psychological capital.
• Questionnaire survey of 871 college students in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
• Utilized assessments for problematic social media use, psychological capital, and interpersonal relationship distress.
• Analyzed the data to determine relationships and moderating effects among the variables.
• Problematic social media use is positively related to interpersonal relationship distress.
• Psychological capital shows a significant negative correlation with both problematic social media use and interpersonal relationship distress.
• Higher levels of psychological capital can mitigate the impact of problematic social media use on relationship distress.