The mediating role of loneliness and the moderating role of digital dementia in the relationship between social appearance anxiety and happiness: a moderated mediation model

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between social appearance anxiety and happiness among female university students and to investigate the moderating role of digital dementia in these associations. The study sample consisted of 370 female university students aged 18 years and older. Data were collected using the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8), the Digital Dementia Scale – Adult Form, and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire–Short Form. The data were obtained through an online survey administered via Google Forms. The proposed moderated mediation model was tested using the PROCESS macro (Model 59) with bootstrapping procedures. Social appearance anxiety and digital dementia were positively associated with loneliness, while social appearance anxiety, loneliness, and digital dementia were negatively associated with happiness. Digital dementia moderated the relationship between social appearance anxiety and loneliness such that this association was strongest at low levels of digital dementia and gradually weakened as digital dementia increased. Similarly, digital dementia moderated the relationship between social appearance anxiety and happiness, with the negative association weakening and becoming non-significant at high levels of digital dementia. However, digital dementia did not moderate the relationship between loneliness and happiness, nor did it conditionally moderate the indirect effect of social appearance anxiety on happiness through loneliness. These findings indicate that social appearance anxiety is an important psychosocial factor associated with loneliness and happiness among female university students. Digital dementia appears to alter the strength of these associations by potentially reducing the relative contribution of appearance-related concerns as cognitive strain increases. The results suggest that interventions aimed at improving student well-being should address appearance-related anxiety, loneliness, and digital cognitive load simultaneously.