Author(s)

Yuqi Zhang ¹, Yuanyuan Tan ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Department of Applied Psychology, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, 442000, China

Corresponding Author

Yuanyuan Tan

ABSTRACT

The quality of friendship is a key indicator in personal relationships. Investigating new friendship patterns, particularly individual cognitive and behavioral patterns in the digital age, this study administered the social networking self-efficacy scale, Online communication Motivation Scale, Friendship Quality Scale, and the Internet Self-Representation Scale to 935 college students. Findings indicated that social networking self-efficacy positively predicts friendship quality. Additionally, online communication motivation partially mediated the relationship between social networking self-efficacy and friendship quality. Moreover, online Self-Disclosure moderated the initial stage of this mediation model. These results aim to help students shape a healthy perspective on friendships, utilize online resources for interpersonal interactions, and provide a theoretical foundation for mental health education in academic institutions.

KEYWORDS

College students; Social networking self-efficacy; Friendship quality; Online communication motivation; Online self-disclosure

CITE THIS PAPER

Yuqi Zhang, Yuanyuan Tan, The Influence of Social Networking Self-Efficacy on Friendship Quality: A Moderated Mediation Model. Applied & Educational Psychology (2024) Vol. 5: 158-166. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2024.050624.

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