Longitudinal associations between problematic TikTok use and academic performance among Chinese college students: mediation by academic burnout and disordered eating

PURPOSE: Although problematic TikTok use (PTTU) and disordered eating have each been linked to poorer academic outcomes, few studies have examined their interplay-particularly the distinct roles of thinness- versus muscularity-oriented eating-and the contribution of academic burnout. This study tested whether baseline PTTU prospectively predicted subsequent-semester GPA through parallel and sequential pathways involving academic burnout and both eating-pathology orientations among Chinese undergraduates. METHODS: = 19.34, SD = 1.30) completed the Problematic TikTok Use Scale, Academic Burnout Scale, 12-item EDE-QS, and Muscularity-Oriented Eating Test at semester start (September 2024). At the beginning of the following semester (March 2025), official GPA records were retrieved from university academic systems (with consent) for 431 participants from the baseline cohort. Pearson correlations assessed bivariate associations, and a latent-variable mediation model was estimated in R (v4.1.4) using the lavaan package with robust maximum likelihood (MLR) to derive direct and indirect effects. RESULTS: Baseline PTTU was inversely associated with later GPA (r = - 0.33, p < 0.001). Mediation analyses indicated that academic burnout (β = -0.02, 95% CI [- 0.043, - 0.003]), thinness-oriented disordered eating (β = -0.04, 95% CI [- 0.073, - 0.001]), and muscularity-oriented disordered eating (β = -0.03, 95% CI [- 0.061, - 0.002]) each significantly conveyed portions of the PTTU-GPA association, consistent with parallel indirect effects. CONCLUSION: PTTU was associated with lower end-of-semester GPA, in part through academic burnout and dual (thinness- and muscularity-oriented) disordered-eating pathways. Integrated campus strategies addressing digital overuse, body-image pressures, and study-related exhaustion may help safeguard academic achievement.