Metacognitions as a predictor of short-form video use: a psychometric and network analysis study among Chinese children and early adolescents

This study was designed to construct and validate a novel instrument, the Metacognitions about Short-form Video Use Scale (MSVUS), with the objective of evaluating children and early adolescents’ metacognitive beliefs regarding their early engagement with short video content. The study also aimed to examine these metacognitive beliefs as potential predictors of the risk of short video addiction. A total of 1802 children and early adolescents from China were enrolled in the study (M_age = 12.09). The factorial structure of the MSVUS was initially delineated using exploratory factor analysis, revealing two distinct dimensions: “Positive metacognition about short video use” and “Negative metacognition about short video use”, encompassing a total of 10 items. Subsequently, the stability and structural integrity of the scale were validated through confirmatory factor analysis. The measurement invariance of the scale was rigorously tested across various demographic groups. Correlational analyses indicated that both positive and negative metacognitions were significantly and positively correlated with the propensity for short video addiction and anxiety. Further multivariate regression analyses revealed that negative metacognitions made a significant unique contribution to the variance in short-form video addiction scores, and this contribution was stronger than that of positive metacognitions. Additionally, this study explored the network structure of the scale items from a network analytic perspective, uncovering the intricate interplay between positive and negative metacognitions. The findings of this research not only contribute to the theoretical understanding of metacognition in children and early adolescent digital media consumption but also offer empirical support for the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for short video addiction among children and early adolescents.