Impact Of Social Media Addiction and Self-Regulation on Mental Health among Undergraduate Students of Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between social media addiction and self-regulation on mental health among undergraduate students of Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State. The study was guided by three objectives, three research questions, and three hypotheses. A correlational survey design was adopted. The population comprised undergraduate students in the Faculty of Education. Proportionate sampling was used to select 400 final-year (400-level) undergraduate students. Data were collected using a questionnaire titled “Social Media Addiction, Self-Regulation and Mental Health Scale (SMASRMHS)” which was validated by two experts. Test–retest reliability was assessed. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess internal consistency, which yielded the following reliability coefficient, Social Media Addiction Scale = 0.82, Self Regulation Scale = 0.70 and Mental Health Scale = 0.80. The data collected were analyzed using means and standard deviations to answer research questions, Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficient (PPMC) and t-tests were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. The findings showed that social media addiction is significantly associated with the mental health of undergraduate students, whereas self-regulation and gender did not show statistically significant associations with mental health in this sample. These findings underscore the importance of promoting healthy and balanced social media use among university students as part of broader efforts to support students' mental well-being. Among other recommendations, the study proposed that the university management should organize regular awareness programmes on the effects of excessive social media use and strategies for maintaining good mental health. The university counselling unit should provide counselling and psychological support services for students who exhibit signs of social media addiction or mental health challenges.