Short video addiction is associated with students’ academic disengagement: a moderated mediation analysis

Mobile short-video addiction has been linked to students’ academic disengagement, yet the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether self-control mediates the relationship between mobile short-video addiction and academic disengagement and whether psychological resilience moderates both the direct and indirect pathways (i.e., a moderated mediation model). Using a convenience sample of 2,687 vocational college students enrolled in preschool teacher-education programs in Guangxi, China (Mage = 19.280, SD = 1.206), we assessed mobile short-video addiction, academic disengagement, self-control, and psychological resilience and tested the conditional process model. Results showed that mobile short-video addiction was positively associated with academic disengagement, and this association was partially mediated by reduced self-control. Psychological resilience further exhibited dual-path moderation: it strengthened the negative association between addiction symptoms and self-control and amplified the protective association between self-control and academic disengagement. Correspondingly, both pathway effects were weaker in the low-resilience group than in the high-resilience group. By demonstrating a context-sensitive pattern of resilience-related resources in a vocational preschool teacher-education cohort, this study extends existing evidence in vocational education settings and offers theoretical and practical implications for interventions aimed at reducing short-video addiction and enhancing self-regulation and academic engagement.