Can Social Media be Used to Control Academic Stress? An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior
- Maliheh Shadi1, Nooshin Peyman2, Ali Taghipour3, Alireza Jafari4, Hadi Tehrani2,*
1 Department of Health Education & Health Promotion, School of Health, Student Research Committee, Mashhad University of
Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13131–99137, Iran
2 Health Education & Health Promotion, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13131–99137, Iran
3 Epidemiology, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13131–99137, Iran
4 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
* Corresponding Author:Hadi Tehrani. Email:
2 Health Education & Health Promotion, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13131–99137, Iran
3 Epidemiology, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13131–99137, Iran
4 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
* Corresponding Author:Hadi Tehrani. Email:
Received 03 May 2021; Accepted 13 June 2021; Issue published 20 December 2021
Abstract
The present study was conducted aiming at investigating the effect of social media-based intervention according to
the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to control the academic stress of the students. This study comes in two
descriptive and quasi-experimental sections in the Academic Year 2018–19. In order to determine the effect of
planned behavioral constructs on stress levels, the descriptive study was conducted on 320 students. The quasiexperimental study was organized to determine the effect of a social media-based educational intervention on
the TPB on 180 students. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires of personal information, Gadzella’s
Student-Life Stress Inventory, and researcher-made questionnaire based on the TPB, with a confirmed validity and
reliability. TPB predicted 15.1% of the variance of academic stress among students and the perceived behavioral
control construct had the most significant effect (p < 0.001). The mean score of knowledge and subject norms in
the experimental group was significantly increased during the study (p < 0.05). The social media intervention could
reduce the students’ academic stress to some extent and lead to the student’s subject norms development.
Keywords
Academic stress; social media; students
Cite This Article
Shadi, M., Peyman, N., Taghipour, A., Jafari, A., Tehrani, H. (2022). Can Social Media be Used to Control Academic Stress? An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 24(1), 25–38.
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