ArticleBMC psychology2025
Cyber upward social comparison and well-being among college students: the chain mediating roles of self-esteem and emotional regulation.
Article in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- "Looking up" linked to feeling down: a meta-analysis of online upward social comparison and psychological maladjustment.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the rapid rise of social media, college students are increasingly exposed to others' "highlight moments," making cyber upward social comparison more common and potentially detrimental to Well-being. This study explores how cyber upward social comparison affects well-being, focusing on self-esteem and emotional regulation as mediators, and examining gender differences.
methodsA questionnaire survey yielded 500 valid responses, all from Chinese college students. The participants' ages were primarily concentrated between 18 and 20 years old (accounting for 70.80%). Among them, 234 were male (46.8%) and 266 were female (53.2%). Data were analyzed with Smart-PLS for SEM and multi-group analysis to examine gender differences.
resultsSEM results showed that the model explained 60.8% of the variance in well-being. Self-esteem and cognitive reappraisal sequentially mediated the relationship between cyber upward social comparison and well-being, but expressive suppression showed no significant association. Multi-group analysis revealed a stronger negative association between cyber upward social comparison and cognitive reappraisal in females, while the positive association between cognitive reappraisal and well-being was more pronounced in males.
conclusionCyber upward social comparison reduces college students' well-being both directly and through a chain of lowered self-esteem and reduced cognitive reappraisal. Gender differences suggest the need for gender-sensitive psychological interventions. This study provides new insights into college students' psychological adaptation in digital environments, with the goal of offering both theoretical support and practical recommendations for mental health promotion in higher education.
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