The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Needs in Perceived Parenting Styles and Social Media Addiction Among University Students: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The rapid development of digital technologies has intensified concerns about social media addiction, particularly among university students. The perceived parenting styles they experienced may influence this risk, with unmet interpersonal needs acting as potential mediators. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness mediate the relationship between perceived parenting and social media addiction among university students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1766 university students from March 2023 to May 2023. Parenting styles were assessed using the short-form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (Swedish for "My memories of upbringing") for Chinese, unmet interpersonal needs were assessed via the 15-item version of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, and social media addiction was assessed through the Social Network Addiction Tendency Scale. Parenting profiles were identified using latent profile analysis, and mediation models were examined through path analysis. Results: Three perceived parenting profiles were identified: supportive (1094/1766, 61.9%), emotionally distant (192/1766, 10.9%), and controlling-critical (480/1766, 27.2%). Path analyses indicated indirect effects of parenting profile on social media addiction via unmet interpersonal needs. Compared to the supportive group, the emotionally distant (β=0.107 for perceived burdensomeness; β=0.354 for thwarted belongingness) and controlling-critical (β=0.543 for perceived burdensomeness; β=0.457 for thwarted belongingness) groups reported higher unmet interpersonal needs, which in turn were positively associated with social media addiction (β=0.119 for perceived burdensomeness; β=0.158 for thwarted belongingness). Multigroup analyses further showed that perceived burdensomeness was significantly associated with social media addiction among male students (β=0.180; P<.001) but not among female students (β=0.038; P=.30). Conclusions: Unmet interpersonal needs mediate the link between maladaptive parenting and social media addiction. Early interventions that promote emotional warmth and reduce rejecting and controlling behaviors may help prevent digital dependence among young adults, particularly when tailored to specific interpersonal vulnerabilities.