马来西亚华裔儿童社交媒体使用与情绪调节

Social Media Use and Emotion Regulation among Malaysian Chinese Children

摘要: 社交媒体在全球儿童群体中广泛普及，其对儿童心理健康与情绪调节能力的影响日益显著。文章聚焦7至11岁的马来西亚华裔儿童，探讨社交媒体使用行为对情绪调节策略的影响。研究发现，主动使用社交媒体能促进儿童采用认知重评策略，对情绪调节有积极促进作用；相反，被动使用社交媒体则易导致表达抑制，增加情绪调节的依赖性。同时，通过梳理初步实证数据，深入剖析社交媒体使用影响儿童情绪调节的双向路径，并从情绪调节过程模型及社会需求补偿机制等方面探讨其内在机制，旨在为引导马来西亚华裔儿童合理使用社交媒体、维护心理健康提供理论依据。

Abstract: Social media has become increasingly prevalent among children worldwide, and its effects on children’s psychological well-being and emotion regulation abilities have become increasingly pronounced. Focusing on Malaysian Chinese children aged 7 to 11, this study examines how social media use, particularly active and passive use, affects children’s emotion regulation strategies, including cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The findings indicate that active social media use can facilitate children’s adoption of cognitive reappraisal strategies and contribute positively to emotion regulation. In contrast, passive social media use tends to lead to expressive suppression, increasing dependence in emotion regulation. Meanwhile, by sorting out preliminary empirical data, this study examines in depth the bidirectional pathways through which social media use affects children’s emotion regulation and examines the underlying mechanisms from the perspectives of the process model of emotion regulation and compensatory mechanisms related to social needs. The study aims to provide a theoretical basis for guiding Malaysian Chinese children toward healthier social media use and supporting their mental health.