The Relationship Between Adult Anxiety Attachment and SNS Addictive Behavior in College Students: The Mediating Effects of Rejection Sensitivity and Social Interaction Anxiety Moderated by Relational Frustration

Objectives The purpose of the present study is to identify relational mechanisms within SNS addictive behavior. To this end, a moderated mediation model was established to examine the mediating effects of rejection sensi-tivity and social interaction anxiety on the pathway from anxiety attachment to SNS addictive behavior, moderated by relational frustration. Methods Data from 247 university students were collected for the study and analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results The results showed that the moderated mediation model adequately explained the data, suggesting that relational frustration moderates the path of SNS addiction through anxiety attachment mediating rejection sensi-tivity and social interaction anxiety, and relational frustration moderates the path of SNS addiction through social interaction anxiety. Conclusions Higher anxious attachment is associated with higher SNS addiction, and the relationship between the two variables can be explained by rejection sensitivity and social interaction anxiety. Furthermore, social inter-action anxiety and SNS addiction tendencies can be moderated by relational frustration, suggesting that relational aspects should be considered when understanding the problems of clients who complain of SNS addiction tendencies.