Digital Well-Being and Problematic TikTok Use in Higher Education: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of the TikTok Addiction Scale among Vietnamese Students

To read the full-text Open Access article and download the PDFs, please visit our Issue portal at Paradigm (Walter de Gruyter): https://reference-global.com/article/10.56508/mhgcj.v9i1.373 Introduction: Short-form video consumption dominates youth digital culture. In Vietnam, rapid adoption of TikTok intersects with emerging vulnerabilities in student mental health and digital well-being, yet empirical evidence from Southeast Asian higher education contexts remains scarce. Purpose: This study examined the prevalence, risk factors and demographic correlates of PTU while testing the preliminary psychometric performance of the Vietnamese version of the TikTok Addiction Scale (TTAS). Methodology: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 365 undergraduate students from public and private universities in Vietnam via convenience sampling. Participants completed the Vietnamese version of the 15-item TTAS alongside a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multiple linear regression were performed. Results: Participants reported a mean TikTok usage of 3.81 hours/day. The mean TTAS score was 2.58 (SD = 0.77), and 17.5% of participants exceeded the original TTAS cut-off for high-risk PTU. The Vietnamese TTAS demonstrated good overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s ? = .879), whereas CFA provided only marginal support for the original six-factor structure (CFI = .878, TLI = .804, SRMR = .088, RMSEA = .094). After adjusting for covariates, university type remained the only significant independent predictor of PTU (? = .272, p < .001; R² = .081). Conclusion: Problematic TikTok engagement is an identifiable risk factor within university cohorts. Because the original TTAS cut-off has not been calibrated for the Vietnamese population and the original six-factor structure received only marginal empirical support, the Vietnamese TTAS should be regarded as a preliminary research instrument that requires further psychometric refinement and cross-cultural validation before being recommended for routine screening. Nonetheless, the findings offer an actionable foundation for campus-based MHPSS frameworks, institutional digital hygiene policies, and targeted student well-being initiatives in higher education.