GuangFeng Zheng,1 HaoYan Peng2 

1Student Affairs Department, Guangdong Mechanical &Electrical Polytechnic, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, People’s Republic of China; 2Student Affairs Department, Guangzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology Trade, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: GuangFeng Zheng, Email jian314@126.com

Purpose: While prior research has predominantly examined the direct effects of social media addiction, academic stress, and sleep quality on anxiety symptoms, the role of underlying mechanisms remains insufficiently explored. This study seeks to systematically investigate how social media addiction, academic stress, and sleep quality influence anxiety symptoms through the mediating mechanism of self-efficacy.
Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, using stratified random sampling to recruit 469 Chinese adolescents aged 12– 18. Various tools were used for measurement, including the Social Media Addiction Scale, the Academic Stress Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Correlation analysis and mediation effect analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0.
Results: After controlling for covariates such as gender, the results indicated significant correlations between social media addiction, academic stress, sleep quality, and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Self-efficacy played a crucial mediating role in this process.
Conclusion: These findings provide new insights into the causes of anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents and offer a theoretical basis for future psychological health intervention strategies.

Keywords: social media addiction, academic stress, sleep quality, self-efficacy, anxiety symptoms