Parental Psychological Control and Social Network Addiction Among Junior High School Students: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Social Anxiety and Loneliness in the Chinese Cultural Context

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Attachment Theory, this study examined the parallel mediating roles of social anxiety and loneliness in the relationship between parental psychological control (PPC) and social network addiction (SNA) among junior high school students in China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 863 valid respondents (M oxe = 13.45, SD = 0.91; 51.9% female) drawn from six junior high schools across urban and rural regions of China. Bootstrap-based mediation analyses (5,000 resamples) revealed that: (1) PPC was significantly and positively associated with SNA (β = .59, p < .001); (2) social anxiety (indirect effect = .085, 95% CI [.062, .111]) and loneliness (indirect effect = .012, 95% CI [.003, .024]) each independently mediated the PPC–SNA relationship in a parallel fashion; and (3) PPC retained a significant direct effect on SNA (β = .53, p < .001) after controlling for both mediators, indicating partial mediation. Importantly, the path coefficients displayed in Figure 2 are standardized estimates, whereas the indirect effects reported above (produced by the PROCESS macro) are based on unstandardized coefficients, which accounts for the apparent numerical discrepancy. A formal model comparison procedure confirmed the superiority of the parallel mediation model over sequential alternatives (ΔAIC = 227.56). These findings extend SDT and Attachment Theory to the domain of adolescent social network use in a Confucian cultural context, and highlight the importance of autonomy-supportive parenting and targeted social-emotional interventions in preventing SNA among Chinese adolescents. • Parental psychological control (PPC) significantly and positively predicts social network addiction (SNA) among Chinese junior high school students. • Social anxiety independently mediates the PPC–SNA relationship (indirect effect = .085, 95% CI [.062, .111]). • Loneliness independently mediates the PPC–SNA relationship (indirect effect = .012, 95% CI [.003, .024]). • A formal model comparison (ΔAIC = 227.56) confirms the superiority of the parallel over sequential mediation models. • Findings extend SDT and Attachment Theory to adolescent social network use in a Confucian cultural context