The Application of Self-Determination Theory to Short-form Video Addiction: The Roles of Psychological Needs and Intrinsic Motivations

Short-form video applications are widely used worldwide. At the same time, new concerns have been raised owing to excessive and addictive short-form video use, with significant harm to health and well-being. By self-determination theory, the present study aimed to test the effects of satisfaction and frustration of three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) in relation to short-form video addiction (SVA) and evaluate the roles of the intrinsic motivations for passing time and entertainment underlying such relationships. The study included 367 Chinese TikTok users (37.1% male) aged 18 to 62 years ( M ± SD = 20.63 ± 4.40 years), who voluntarily completed an anonymous online questionnaire without compensation. All three types of need satisfaction had significant negative associations with SVA, while the three types of need frustration were significantly positively associated with SVA. Entertainment motivation significantly and negatively mediated the relationship between competence/relatedness satisfaction and SVA while significantly and positively mediating the relationship between relatedness frustration and SVA. Motivation for passing time served as a risk-enhancing mediator in the relationship between competence/relatedness frustration and SVA. Therefore, this study identified relatedness frustration and motivation for passing time as the most salient risk factors of SVA. The implications for SVA interventions that focus on psychological needs and intrinsic motivation are also discussed.