The relationship between techno-distress and well-being among university students: the moderating effects of positive youth development attributes and techno-stressors

This study investigated the relationships between techno-distress and university students’ well-being and examined the moderating roles of positive youth development (PYD) and techno-stressors. Data were collected from 636 university students in mainland China (36.95% male; M age = 21.24; SD age = 1.43) via an online questionnaire. Hierarchical regressions with dual moderators were conducted using PROCESS Macro v4.2, controlling for digital literacy and organizational support. The findings revealed that techno-distress was positively associated with academic burnout and depression and negatively correlated with life satisfaction. Overall, PYD did not demonstrate a significant moderating role; however, among students with higher levels of competence-related PYD subdimensions, techno-distress was less strongly related to adverse mental health outcomes. In contrast, overall techno-stressors significantly amplified the relationship between techno-distress and depression, particularly under the dimensions of techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-uncertainty. These findings highlight the dimension-specific patterns in the moderating role of PYD and indicate that association between techno-distress and mental health outcomes was stronger under higher levels of environmental demands. This study contributes to stress theory by providing a precise technostress framework and offers practical recommendations for reducing techno-distress in higher education.