Cognitive emotion regulation strategies as predictors of short video addiction in children aged 10-14: a descriptive and correlational study

The rapid rise of short video consumption among children and adolescents has raised concerns regarding its associations with cognitive and emotional functioning. This study aimed to examine whether cognitive emotion regulation strategies predict short video addiction levels in children aged 10-14 and to explore the relationship between specific emotion regulation strategies and short video addiction. A descriptive and correlational research design was employed. The study was conducted between January and June 2025 with 202 middle school students aged 10-14. Participants completed an Information Form, the Short Video Addiction Scale (SVAS), and the Turkish Child Version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-k). Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. The mean age of the participants was 12.12 years (SD = 1.24). Most were female (52.97%) and enrolled in the 7th grade (30.20%). SVAS scores were positively correlated with self-blame (r = .21, p < .05), putting into perspective (r = .20, p < .05), and catastrophizing (r = .24, p < .01), indicating that higher levels of short video addiction were associated with greater reliance on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Regression analysis identified catastrophizing as a significant predictor of short video addiction scores (B = 0.59, p < .05), indicating that greater use of catastrophizing was associated with higher levels of short video addiction.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, particularly self-blame and catastrophizing, are associated with higher levels of short video addiction among children. These results highlight the importance of interventions that strengthen adaptive emotion regulation skills as a potential approach to preventing or reducing problematic short video use in childhood.

What is known

• Short video use is increasingly common among children and may be associated with cognitive and emotional functioning. • Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, such as self-blame and catastrophizing, are linked to poorer emotional and behavioral outcomes in children.

What is new

• Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies are associated with higher levels of short video addiction in children aged 10-14. • Catastrophizing significantly predicts short video addiction, identifying a potential target for early prevention and intervention efforts.