BMC Psychology最新文献

Background: The increasing prevalence of digital media tools and applications may influence aspects of university students' lives. Excessive use of these digital applications is associated with increased stress and potentially adverse outcomes related to academic achievement. This study examined the effect of digital stress on academic procrastination and psychological well-being, and whether ego depletion played a mediating role in these relationships.

Methods: The hypotheses formulated for this purpose were tested within the framework of the analysis of data collected through a survey using a quantitative research design. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2025 using convenience sampling to collect 768 data points from undergraduate students enrolled in university programmes in Rize, Türkiye. Hayes' Process macro was used for the mediation analysis.

Results: The effect of digital stress subdimensions on academic procrastination is positive and significant. The effect of digital stress on psychological well-being (excluding availability stress and online vigilance) is negative and significant. Ego depletion plays a mediating role in both the effect of digital stress on academic procrastination (excluding availability stress) and psychological well-being (excluding availability stress). The effect of academic procrastination on both psychological well-being and academic achievement is negative and significant. Psychological well-being has a positive and significant effect on academic achievement.

Conclusion: The results of the current study show that students are negatively affected by digital stress. Digital stress increases ego depletion, which delays the fulfilment of important academic responsibilities. It can also undermine students' positive perceptions of their lives. These effects may also stem from ego depletion. Consequently, students may be susceptible to the detrimental impact of digital media tools when striving for academic achievement. The study offers theoretical and practical recommendations for researchers and university administrators.

Purpose: Learning flow is a crucial psychological state that enhances academic engagement and well-being, yet its formation among freshmen remains underexplored. This study aimed to explore the relationships between perceived social support, perceived stress, depression, and learning flow among freshmen, and test a chain mediation model in which perceived stress and depression link perceived social support to learning flow.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 805 freshmen from a comprehensive university in China. The assessment of key variables was conducted using four validated scales, including the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Flow Short Scale. Regression analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro (Model 6), and the significance of indirect effects was tested through the Bootstrap method with 5,000 resamples.

Results: The results indicated that: (1) freshmen's learning flow was at a moderate level, with room for improvement; (2) perceived social support was significantly and positively associated with learning flow (β = 0.324, p < 0.001); (3) perceived stress mediated the relationship between perceived social support and learning flow (indirect effect = 0.167, 27.9% of the total effect); (4) depression also served as a mediator between perceived social support and learning flow (indirect effect = 0.054, 9.0% of the total effect); (5) perceived stress and depression played a chain mediating role between perceived social support and learning flow (indirect effect = 0.054, 9.0% of the total effect). The total indirect effect accounted for 45.9% of the total effect.

Conclusion: This study revealed that perceived social support is related to freshmen's learning flow through psychological health variables, providing empirical evidence and practical insights for promoting psychological well-being and learning engagement in higher education.

Background: Gender differences in mental rotation are well established. However, conflicting results were reported when gender was shown to interact with sport expertise and different task transformations in adolescents' mental rotation.

Methods: Forty-four adolescent subjects (22 divers and 22 nonathletes) participated in the experiment. A mental body rotation task with object-based and egocentric transformation conditions was conducted, and the reaction time, accuracy, and stage performance were recorded.

Results: The results showed that in the object-based task involving cube images, the divers had shorter reaction times than did nonathletes, and the perception speed of athletic boys was faster than that of athletic girls. In the object-based task with body image, athletes' advantage was confirmed, and the accuracy for girls was significantly greater than that for boys. No gender difference was detected in the egocentric task.

Conclusions: The mental rotation ability of adolescents was found to be significantly influenced by their mental rotation representation and motor expertise, which differed by gender.

Background: Female university students face an elevated risk of developing common mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. Rumination, a specific form of repetitive negative thought (RNT), is a well-documented risk factor for these conditions. Rumination-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (RFCBT) represents a promising intervention for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety, fostering mental well-being during young adulthood. Although RFCBT has demonstrated effectiveness in numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cultural adaptation has emerged as a critical consideration. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally adapted, guided RFCBT self-help intervention in reducing RNT as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety among Japanese female university students, employing an RCT design.

Methods: This study is a single-site, assessor-blinded, parallel-group, two-arm randomized controlled trial (guided self-help vs. waitlist), employing block randomization in a 1:1 ratio. A total of 102 female university students with elevated levels of RNT will be recruited. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group receiving guided RFCBT self-help, or the waitlist control group. The primary outcome is rumination, assessed using the Ruminative Responses Scale. Measurements will be conducted at 4- and 8-week post-randomization.

Discussion: Empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of culturally adapted RFCBT in mitigating RNT and symptoms of depression and anxiety among East Asian populations remains scarce. If proven effective, this study will provide empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of RFCBT in reducing RNT, depression, and anxiety within an East Asian population.

Trial registration: Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT): jRCT1050240305, registered 27 March, 2025. (Initially registered with UMIN-CTR: UMIN000053430, on 24 January, 2024. Prospectively registered. Later transferred to jRCT.) PROTOCOL VERSION: Ver. 1.3, February 9th 2026.

Background: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake had profound psychological consequences. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are closely linked to depression in disaster survivors. This study aimed to examine the moderating role of GAD symptoms in the relationship between PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was applied with 495 participants. Data were collected online approximately 21 months after the earthquake using standardized self-report measures: the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Beck Depression Inventory, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26 and AMOS 23. Reliability was tested with Cronbach's alpha, confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the measurement model, and moderation analysis was conducted with Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 1) using regression and bootstrapping.

Results: PTSD and GAD symptoms have a positive effect on the level of depressive symptoms. Moreover, GAD symptoms significantly moderated the relationship between PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms, amplifying this effect.

Conclusion: PTSD and GAD symptoms jointly increase vulnerability to depression following a major disaster, with GAD acting as a key moderating factor. These findings highlight the importance of considering comorbid anxiety in post-disaster risk assessment and intervention strategies.