Lu Wang, Jiayu He, Xiaoming Zhang, Heqing Wang, Jingmin Song, Ningbo Chen, Xinhong Zhu
CFC was associated with REBS among Chinese college students, with SOP and ASMC partially explained the observed association. This study also identifies A18, C6, and A19 as central nodes within the network. In addition, B5, B4, and B1 are recognized as bridge symptoms connecting CFC, SOP, ASMC, and REBS. Furthermore, central symptoms (A18, C6, and A19) and bridge symptoms (B5 and B4) may serve as potential targets for future interventions.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between future food consideration and regulation of eating behaviors among college students, using chain mediation and network analysis (NA), with a specific focus on employing chain mediation and NA to examine the associations linking sense of purpose and social media consciousness.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among college students (n = 778) with questionnaires, including Regulation of Eating Behaviors Scale (REBS), the Consideration of Future Consequence-food (CFC), the Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale (ASMC) and the Sense of Purpose Scale with Adults (SOP). Statistical analyses included mediation modeling and NA.
RESULTS: Three levels of eating behaviors motivation were identified, including high level of motivation (29.82%), medium level (58.10%), low level (12.08%). Compared to high level of motivation, low level of motivation was correlated with a lower likelihood of the CFC (OR: 0.853, 95% CI: 0.791 to 0.920), SOP (OR: 0.882, 95%CI: 0.851 to 0.914), ASMC (OR: 0.966, 95%CI: 0.944 to 0.988). Furthermore, SOP (effect: 0.102, 95%CI: 0.070 to 0.136) and ASMC (effect: -0.027, 95%CI: -0.048 to -0.007) were associated with CFC and partially accounted for variance in REBS in the total population. However, in the terms of normal weight population, the association involving ASMC (effect: -0.016, 95%CI: -0.044 to 0.009) was not significant. NA results indicated that A18, C6 and A19 were centrally positioned within the network. In addition, B5 and B4 were considered bridging symptoms in the NA.
CONCLUSION: CFC was associated with REBS among Chinese college students, with SOP and ASMC partially explained the observed association. This study also identifies A18, C6, and A19 as central nodes within the network. In addition, B5, B4, and B1 are recognized as bridge symptoms connecting CFC, SOP, ASMC, and REBS. Furthermore, central symptoms (A18, C6, and A19) and bridge symptoms (B5 and B4) may serve as potential targets for future interventions.