From Adversity to Short Video Addiction: Psychological Distress and Online Social Support as Mediators Among Rural Chinese Left-Behind and Non-Left-Behind Adolescents

Short-form video platforms have become embedded in adolescents’ everyday lives, and rural left-behind children may be particularly vulnerable to problematic use in the context of prolonged parental absence. This cross-sectional study examined associations between family, peer, and school adversity and short video addiction (SVA), as well as whether these associations differed between left-behind children (LBC) and non-left-behind children (NLBC). Guided by selected components of the I-PACE model and ecological systems theory, we surveyed 1839 rural Chinese secondary school students, including 876 LBC and 963 NLBC. Bullying victimization, academic stress, parental rejection, stress, anxiety, social anxiety, online social support (OSS), and SVA were measured. Partial least squares structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis were used. LBC reported higher mean levels of bullying victimization, academic stress, stress, anxiety, social anxiety, and SVA than NLBC, although the corresponding effect sizes were small. Among LBC, significant indirect associations linked bullying victimization and academic stress with SVA through social anxiety, both independently and serially through OSS; academic stress was also indirectly associated with SVA through OSS alone. Among NLBC, significant indirect associations involving general stress and social anxiety linked adversity with SVA, whereas OSS alone was involved only in the academic stress–SVA association. No between-group path difference remained significant after Bonferroni or false discovery rate correction. The findings identify social anxiety and academic stress as relevant prevention targets but do not establish causal pathways or robust structural differences between LBC and NLBC.