Online social networking is an intrinsic part of present life. However, if individuals believe that some basic psychological needs can only be fulfilled through social networking sites, an addictive pattern of usage may emerge. Problematic social media use (PSMU) is a growing concern in adolescence. The present study aimed at contributing to prior scientific literature by testing a model that considers low emotional intelligence (EI) as a vulnerability factor, perceived stress and depressive symptoms as affective and cognitive responses to conflicting situations, and PSMU as a maladaptive coping mechanism. In this study, 2068 Spanish adolescents (46.2% male, 53.8% female) within the ages of 12 and 19 (M = 14.61, SD = 1.62) completed self-report measures of the above-mentioned constructs. Results indicated that (a) perceived stress was a significant mediator in the association between EI and PSMU, (b) depressive symptoms were a significant mediator in this link, and (c) a significant serial mediation model was supported, in which lower EI predicted higher perceived stress, which contributed to higher levels of depressive symptoms, thus resulting in higher PSMU. These results provide important empirical evidence suggesting promising pathways towards preventing PSMU in adolescents, such as EI training, teaching stress-reduction techniques and focusing on reducing depressive symptoms.

在线社交网络是当今生活的内在组成部分。但是，如果个人认为某些基本的心理需求只能通过社交网站来满足，则可能会出现令人上瘾的使用模式。有问题的社交媒体使用 (PSMU) 是青少年日益关注的问题。本研究旨在通过测试一个模型，该模型将低情商 (EI) 视为脆弱因素，将感知压力和抑郁症状视为对冲突情况的情感和认知反应，并将 PSMU 视为适应不良的应对机制，从而为先前的科学文献做出贡献。在这项研究中，2068 名西班牙青少年（46.2% 男性，53.8% 女性）年龄在 12 岁和 19 岁之间（M  = 14.61，SD = 1.62) 完成上述结构的自我报告测量。结果表明，(a) 感知压力是 EI 和 PSMU 之间关联的重要中介，(b) 抑郁症状是这一联系的重要中介，(c) 支持显着的序列中介模型，其中较低的 EI 预测更高的感知压力，导致更高水平的抑郁症状，从而导致更高的 PSMU。这些结果提供了重要的经验证据，表明了预防青少年 PSMU 的有希望的途径，例如 EI 培训、教授减压技术和专注于减轻抑郁症状。