Understanding the Role of Resilience in the Link between Facebook Addiction and Mental Health among Female College Students

There is still a lack of research investigating the association between Facebook addiction and mental health (psychological distress and life satisfaction) among female college students, as well as the factors that may explain this association. This study aimed to examine whether Facebook addiction affects the mental health of female college students and whether resilience mediates this relationship. A cross-sectional study was conducted with Vietnamese female college students who use Facebook, with a sample of 987 participants (mean age = 19.99, SD = 1.405) from two universities in Vietnam. The results indicated that 81% of the participants are at risk of Facebook addiction, and resilience was found to mediate the association between Facebook addiction and mental health (β = 0.02, CI = [0.005; 0.042] and β = -0.046, CI = [-0.078; -0.018]). These findings provide further understanding of the pathways through which Facebook addiction impacts mental health among female college students. More importantly, the results suggest that measures to improve mental health in this population should focus on reducing Facebook addiction and enhancing resilience.