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PhD life is a challenging phase and often faced with heavy academic stress. Indulging in social media may be one of the coping styles to relieve this stress. However, the underlying mechanisms by which academic stress affects social media addiction among PhD students are not fully understood. In this study, 431 PhD students (male: n = 243, 56.38%; female: n = 188, 43.62%; mean age = 27.34 years, SD = 2.70 years) completed online self-report measures of academic stress, anxiety, desire thinking, loneliness, and social media addiction. Grounded in general strain theory and the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model, we conducted mediation and moderated mediation model analysis to examine the associations among these variables. The results indicated that academic stress was positively associated with social media addiction and this association was sequentially mediated by anxiety and desire thinking. Furthermore, loneliness moderated and strengthened the positive association between academic stress and social media addiction. We provided empirical support for the feasibility of integrating desire thinking into the I-PACE model. Our research also calls on society to pay attention to the mental health issues affecting these populations and encouraging them to actively participate in offline activities, seek social support, reduce their dependence on social media, and improve stress management and psychological adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Self-criticism and subjective emptiness have been identified as possible transdiagnostic risk factors for various mental disorders. Guided by minority stress theory, this cross-sectional study revealed different latent profiles of these two theorized risk factors and their associations with childhood gender nonconformity and self-stigma. Methods: A sample including 366 gay and bisexual men was employed in the current study, using latent profile analysis to explore their self-criticism and subjective emptiness vulnerability profiles. Results: Results of latent profile analysis identified four possible profiles based on distinct combinations of self-criticism and subjective emptiness, including low-, mild-, moderate-, and high-level risk profiles. In addition, the profiles were differentially associated with self-stigma and childhood gender nonconformity. Policy Implications: We hope our findings will encourage Chinese gay and bisexual men to actively deal with underlying psychological processes and attempt to reconcile with themselves. We also suggest that the relevant personnel engaged in psychological counseling, psychotherapy, psychological services, and clinicians should pay attention to their clients' self-criticism and subjective emptiness experience when assisting these populations. Policies should support and encourage society to jointly create a relaxed and inclusive environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there has been a proliferation in gay dating app (GDA) use in China, research into their potential effects on health outcomes, particularly mental health outcomes, among gay and bisexual men is lacking. The motivations for GDA use are diverse, and understanding users' motivation profiles may provide a necessary starting point for exploring the heterogeneous effects of GDA use on health outcomes. A cross-sectional survey of the motivations for GDA use and other health outcome variables (i.e., condom use frequency, self-stigma, and subjective emptiness) was conducted among 366 Chinese gay and bisexual men. The results of exploration structure equation modeling indicate that the GDA Use Motivation Scale, with a four-factor first-order model, had strong psychometric properties. Then, latent profile analysis (LPA) based on the mean scores of four aspects of motivation was performed. The results of the LPA revealed the existence of four profiles: "Weak motivations" (30.9%), "Differentiated motivations" (17.8%), "Moderate motivations" (30.3%), and "Strong motivations" (21.0%). Differences in health outcomes among the motivation profiles were found by using the Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars approach. Overall, most participants (60.1%) tended to use condoms consistently, regardless of how strong their GDA use motivation was; however, stronger GDA use motivations were associated with higher levels of self-stigma and subjective emptiness. We call for more research to focus on the real needs behind and motivations for GDA use so that all such app users' voices can be heard, as well as to raise awareness about the potential health risks associated with GDA use among Chinese gay and bisexual men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Sense of Emptiness Scale (MSES-C) and further examine the association between emptiness and short-form video addiction (SFVA). In study 1, our findings indicated that the bifactor-CFA model represented the optimal solution for representing the factor structure of the MSES-C, and the bifactor-CFA model showed measurement invariance across gender groups. Additional analyses supported the reliability and convergent validity of the MSES-C. In study 2, the results of the Latent Profile Analysis revealed the existence of three profiles: “Low emptiness” (44.4%), “Moderate emptiness” (32.3%), and “Severe emptiness” (23.3%). Additionally, more intense experiences of emptiness were associated with more severe SFVA. Overall, the MSES-C is a reliable tool for future studies investigating emptiness in Chinese populations. In addition, when relevant departments deal with the emerging social phenomenon of SFVA, mental health issues such as emptiness should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]