Latent profile analysis of depressive symptoms and its associations with problematic social media use and demographic characteristics among Chinese college students

Key Points

• This research aims to investigate the distribution of depressive symptoms and their associations with social media use and demographics among college students.
• Administered the Depression Scale and Problematic Social Media Use Scale to 3,540 college students.
• Conducted latent profile analysis to categorize depression levels.
• Analyzed the influence of demographic factors on depression levels.
• Identified three depression level categories: low, moderate, and high.
• Found that higher problematic social media use is associated with increased depression levels.
• Established that male students, those from rural backgrounds, and grade influence depression levels.