The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between social media addiction and emotional eating

The aim of the current study is to examine the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between social media addiction and emotional eating. The sample of the study consist of a total of 533 university students, 320 female (60%) and 213 male (40%). In the current study, Personal Information Form, Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and Short Psychological Resilience Scale (SPRS) were applied to the participants. Independent samples t-test was performed to determine whether the obtained data differed according to demographic characteristics. Pearson correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between variables, and the bootstrap method was used to test mediation models. The results of the analysis indicated that participants' levels of social media addiction did not differ based on gender; however, significant differences were observed in emotional eating and psychological resilience levels according to gender. Accordingly, it was found that the levels of emotional eating were higher in females compared to males, while the levels of psychological resilience were higher in males compared to females. According to the results of the correlation analysis, a positive relationship was found between social media addiction and emotional eating, and a negative relationship was found between psychological resilience and both social media addiction and emotional eating. When the mediator variable analysis results were examined, it was determined that psychological resilience had a mediating role in the effect of social media addiction on emotional eating. The findings obtained from the analysis were discussed within the scope of relevant literature and recommendations were presented.