UIndy School of Psychology Faculty, Alumni, and Students Collaborate to Study Emotional Health and TikTok

As the United States continues to face a growing youth mental health crisis, social media use has become a central part of the conversation. From endless doomscrolling to the emotional effects of online content, nearly every aspect of social media is being examined as mental health professionals work to better understand its impact and develop effective coping strategies. A research team from the University of Indianapolis School of Psychology is contributing to that effort.

In collaboration with Dr. Hui Zhang, assistant professor of psychology, Samuel Bibat ’24, Hannah Carrie ’25 ’30, Jessica Golden ’25, and Jonathan Thang ’22 ’24 studied the effects of excessive social media use on college students’ mental health. The team collected data from more than 100 undergraduate students to examine the relationships between stress, resilience, emotion regulation, and TikTok use, including both time spent on the app and emotional attachment to the platform.

Their findings were recently published in the article, “Resilience, Stress, and Emotion Regulation in College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of TikTok Engagement,” in the Journal of Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences. 

More than 80% of college students reportedly use TikTok, making it one of the most widely used social media platforms among young adults. Despite its popularity, relatively few studies have examined the platform’s specific effects on mental health.

“I especially value the opportunity to collaborate with students,” said Dr. Zhang. “Since I do not personally use TikTok, I appreciated learning from their perspectives and experiences. Sam and Jon, in particular, took leadership roles in developing the project design and writing the manuscript for publication.

“It has also been meaningful to maintain connections with students after they graduate from UIndy. Many are currently working while applying to PhD programs, and continuing these collaborations helps them strengthen their research skills and scholarly outcomes, ultimately increasing their competitiveness for PhD applications.”

In addition to contributing to important research, collaborations like this provide students with hands-on experience in research methodology, academic writing, and professional collaboration alongside faculty and alumni mentors.

“Working alongside one of the most intelligent groups of people has been a privilege,” said Carrie, who is currently in the clinical psychology doctorate program at UIndy. “Being part of something that prioritized getting the job done while having fun is a rarity, but it was something Dr. Zhang and the others on this project made possible. 

“With this being my first research experience, I was eager to learn more about the process. Dr. Zhang and the alumni effortlessly included me in the learning process, making me feel like a stronger, more confident researcher.”

The study found that students with higher resilience and stronger interpersonal emotion regulation skills reported lower stress levels, which were associated with lower TikTok use and emotional attachment to the platform. The findings highlight the importance of incorporating interpersonal emotion regulation strategies into college health and wellness programs and offer valuable insight into how universities can better support student mental health in an increasingly digital world.