Open Access

ARTICLE

The Relationship between Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Problematic Social Media Use among Students: A Three Level Meta-Analysis

Yichi Zhang¹, Muhammad Syawal Bin Amran^1,*, Shahlan bin Surat¹, Yuxiang Feng²
1 Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
* Corresponding Author: Muhammad Syawal Bin Amran. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Causes, Consequences and Interventions for Emerging Social Media Addiction)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.080791

Received 14 February 2026; Accepted 28 April 2026; Published online 20 May 2026

Abstract

Backgrounds: Multiple theoretical models emphasize the role of cognitive emotion regulation (CER) in maladaptive technology-related behaviors, including problematic social media use (PSMU). However, empirical findings regarding on the association between CER and PSMU have been inconsistent. Therefore, the present study aimed to systematically synthesize existing evidence on this relationship and to examine potential moderators using a three-level meta-analytic approach. Methods: To clarify the overall relationship and examine potential moderators, the present study conducted a three-level meta-analysis. A total of 21 primary studies, comprising 22 independent samples (N = 19,648) and 103 effect sizes, were included. Results: The results indicated a significant positive overall association between students’ CER and PSMU (r = 0.293, 95% CI [0.217, 0.365], t = 7.387). Moderator analyses showed that CER type significantly moderated the relationship between CER and PSMU. Specifically, maladaptive CER strategies showed a stronger positive association with PSMU (r = 0.318, 95% CI [0.187, 0.437]) compared to adaptive CER strategies (r = 0.097, 95% CI [0.014, 0.178]). At the strategy-specific level, acceptance showed a relatively strong positive association with PSMU (r = 0.359, 95% CI [0.278, 0.437]), whereas maladaptive strategies such as catastrophizing (r = 0.425, 95% CI [0.285, 0.549]), blaming others (r = 0.422, 95% CI [0.279, 0.547]), and self-blame (r = 0.400, 95% CI [0.255, 0.528]) showed particularly strong associations. In addition, grade, sampling method, standardization of PSMU, region, and measurement of PSMU did not significantly moderate the CER–PSMU relationship. The measurement of CER showed a significant moderating effect, with rumination-related measures yielding stronger associations than Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)-based measures (F = 21.958, p < 0.001). Notably, this pattern suggests that the overall findings may be disproportionately driven by rumination-related operationalizations of CER, potentially limiting their generalizability across CER dimensions. Additionally, publication type emerged as a significant moderator, with larger effect sizes observed in dissertations and conference papers than journal articles (F = 5.126, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Overall, these findings provide quantitative evidence that the association between CER and PSMU varies across CER types. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution, as the results appear to be disproportionately influenced by rumination-related measures, and may also be affected by publication bias. Future research should further explore the underlying psychological mechanisms linking different CER strategies to PSMU.

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Keywords

Cognitive emotion regulation; problematic social media use; students; meta-analysis; three-level modeling

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