Abstract
BACKGROUND: The negative impact of short video addiction (SVA) on the mental health of college students is a current global public health issue. This research explored the mediating role of self-concept clarity (SCC) in the relationship between SVA and depression among college students. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was administered to 510 college students using the Short Video Overuse Behavior Scale, the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Using AMOS 26.0 to establish an SEM and test the mediating effect of SCC, and multi-group analysis was used to examine gender differences in mediating effect. RESULTS: A positive association was observed between SVA and depression, however, further analysis revealed no significant direct effect. Instead, the relationship between SVA and depression was fully mediated by SCC, which exhibited negative associations with both variables. Moreover, a significant gender difference emerged, with this indirect pathway being significant only among female college students. CONCLUSION: SVA may be indirectly associated with depressive symptoms among college students through the mediating effect of SCC, and this mediating effect was significant only among female students.