Volitional Self-regulation and Social Media Use Among Adolescents: the Roles of Impulsivity and Emotion Regulation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper provides a psychological analysis of volitional self-regulation as a determinant of adolescents' social media use, with impulsivity and emotion regulation considered as the key mechanisms through which this influence is realized. Drawing on Kuhl's theory of action control, the process model of emotion regulation and the I-PACE model of specific Internet-use disorders, problematic social media use is interpreted not as a property of the technology itself but as a breakdown of the adolescent's capacity to maintain an intention in the face of competing impulses and negative affect. The structural components of volitional self-regulation, the dimensions of impulsivity and the strategies of emotion regulation are compared with their behavioural manifestations in the digital environment, and a set of diagnostic instruments is substantiated. As a result of the study, a model of direct, impulsive and emotional pathways linking volitional self-regulation with social media use is proposed, together with a typology of risk profiles and the corresponding directions of psychological support. The findings serve to improve the prevention of problematic social media use in general secondary schools and to foster adolescents' digital well-being.
Author: Sharipov, Alisher Nuriddinovich
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225393359