Clarifying the Mediation Role of Social Media Addiction in the Association between COVID-19 Risk Perception and Mental Well-Being among General Population in Türkiye

Abstract

In current paper, the associations among COVID-19 risk perception, social media addiction, and mental well-being was examined. Additionally, the mediation role of social media addiction in the association between COVID-19 risk perception and mental well-being was explored. Through snowball and criterion sampling method, data were collected from 59 males (19%), 248 females (80%) and 3 (1%) individuals who did not want to specify their gender. The ages of the individuals included in the sample ranged from 18 to 75 (M = 26.28, SD = 9.40). According to the correlation analysis findings, there were significant associations among COVID-19 risk perception, social media addiction and mental well-being. Mediation analysis revealed that social media addiction had a mediation role in the association between COVID-19 risk perception and mental well-being. Research findings revealed the potential impact of COVID-19 risk perception and social media addiction on mental well-being.