The Interactive Mediation of Social Support in the Relationship between Digital Addiction and Academic Depression

The study aimed to examine the mediating and moderating roles of perceived social support in the relationship between digital addiction and academic depression. A descriptive correlational design was employed, and the study was conducted on a sample of 1,081 male and female students from various colleges at Kuwait University. The study utilized a Digital Addiction Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory adapted for academic depression, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The findings indicated that the level of digital addiction among students was moderate, whereas the level of academic depression was low, while perceived social support was found to be high. Pearson correlation results also revealed a positive and statistically significant correlation between digital addiction and academic depression, as well as a strong negative correlation between perceived social support and academic depression. Regarding mediation, perceived social support was found to play a partial mediating role in the relationship between digital addiction and academic depression. Moreover, multi-group analysis showed gender differences in the strength of certain relationships within the model: the association between digital addiction and academic depression was stronger among males, whereas the protective association between perceived social support and academic depression appeared stronger among females, within the limitations of the correlational design of the current sample.