Anxious Attachment and Short-Form Video Addiction Among College Students in Chengdu, China: Serial Mediation Role of Emotion Dysregulation and Loneliness

This study aimed to explore the relationship and mediating mechanisms between anxious attachment and short-form video addiction among Chinese college students, with a focus on verifying the serial mediation effect of emotion dysregulation and loneliness. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and convenience sampling was used to recruit 193 undergraduate students aged 18–25 years. Data were collected using the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Short-Form Video Addiction Scale. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and serial mediation analysis were conducted using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS macro.The results showed that anxious attachment was significantly and positively correlated with emotion dysregulation, loneliness, and short-form video addiction. Anxious attachment positively and directly predicted short-form video addiction. Although the separate mediating effects of emotion dysregulation and loneliness, as well as their serial mediating effect, were not statistically significant, the total indirect effect was significant. In addition, emotion dysregulation significantly and positively predicted loneliness, while loneliness only marginally predicted short-form video addiction. These findings indicate that anxious attachment can directly increase short-form video addiction among college students and also exert an indirect influence through the overall effect of emotion dysregulation and loneliness. The results provide a more precise psychological mechanism for understanding short-form video addiction and offer targeted references for intervention practices in college mental health education.