The Mediating Role of Problematic Tiktok Use and Loneliness in the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Resilience in Adolescents

Abstract

Throughout life, individuals encounter many different upsetting events. The concepts of psychological resilience and mindfulness come to the fore in the situations encountered. The dynamics of these concepts and the extent to which they are related to loneliness and problematic TikTok use demonstrate the importance of the research. The aim of this study was to test the mediating role of problematic TikTok use and loneliness in the relationship between mindfulness and psychological resilience in adolescents. In the study, Mindfulness Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Brief Psychological Resilience Scale, and Problematic TikTok Use Scale were administered to 354 students (236 girls and 118 boys) with an average age of 14.7 years who were studying in different high schools in Turkey. The data were tested using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling analyses. The results of the study showed that problematic TikTok use and loneliness had a partial mediating role in the relationship between mindfulness and psychological resilience in adolescents. In the model with serial mediation, it was concluded that individuals with high levels of mindfulness had low levels of loneliness and problematic TikTok use and high levels of psychological resilience. Mindfulness predicts psychological resilience directly and indirectly through problematic TikTok use and loneliness. This situation can be interpreted as the impairment of psychological resilience, the level of mindfulness can be impaired by TikTok use and individuals can become lonely. This result was discussed in the light of theoretical and empirical data.