Development and Validation of an Educational Package for Behavior Management in Cyberspace and Its Effectiveness on Mental Health and Academic Self-Regulation Among Female Secondary School Students in Tehran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Farideh Ebrihimi 1
Esmaeil sadipour 2
Bita Nasrolahi 3
Hasan Asadzadeh 4
1 PhD Candidate in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Science & Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
4 Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Allameh Tabataba’i University,Tehran, Iran
10.22054/nms.2025.86481.1854
Abstract
The primary aim of this research was to develop and validate an educational package for behavior management in cyberspace and to evaluate its effectiveness on mental health and academic self-regulation among female secondary school students in Tehran. In the first phase, the educational package was developed using a library-based method and content analysis of scientific texts. Then, with the help of experts in psychology, educational psychology, and media management, its content validity was examined using the content validity ratio (CVR). The results showed that all the developed topics and content had sufficient validity and were approved by the experts from both scientific and practical perspectives.
In the second phase, using an experimental research design (pre-test, post-test with a control group) and repeated measures analysis of variance, the effectiveness of the educational package on the research variables was evaluated. The results indicated that the mental health of students who received cyberspace behavior management training improved significantly compared to the control group. This finding, considering the role of social media in increasing stress, anxiety, and distraction, underscores the importance of proper behavior management education in cyberspace for enhancing students' mental health. Additionally, the academic self-regulation of the experimental group students increased significantly compared to the control group. This finding suggests that training in cyberspace behavior management, by enhancing skills in planning, time management, and controlling digital distractions, has led to improved academic self-regulation. Although the cyberspace behavior management educational package had an effect on both dependent variables, the calculated effect size indicated that its greatest impact was on academic self-regulation, followed by mental health.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
With the rapid expansion of digital technologies and increased access to the internet, cyberspace has become an inseparable part of students' daily lives. Although this space provides countless opportunities for learning, social communication, and personal growth, it also brings numerous psychological and behavioral challenges. Recent research indicates that inappropriate and excessive use of cyberspace can have significant negative effects on students' mental health and academic self-regulation (Andersen & Jiang, 2018; Ryding & Fox, 2018). These negative effects, particularly during adolescence—a critical stage of psychological and social development—can lead to long-term consequences for individuals' mental health and academic success.
Academic self-regulation refers to students' ability to plan, monitor, and control their own learning processes. This concept includes components such as time management, goal setting, use of learning strategies, self-evaluation, and emotion regulation (Zimmerman, 2000). Academic self-regulation helps individuals maintain motivation and focus when facing academic challenges. Cyberspace, by providing access to unlimited information resources, interactive learning tools, and social networks, has created both opportunities and challenges for academic self-regulation. Access to information resources enables students to access diverse and up-to-date educational resources. Students can access scientific articles, instructional videos, and online courses via the internet (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012). However, by offering entertainment-oriented content and social networks, cyberspace can cause distraction and reduce students' concentration (Janko, 2012). The vast amount of information available online can lead to confusion and diminish students' ability to select appropriate resources. Moreover, over-reliance on digital tools can affect students' time management and planning abilities.
Given the above, social networks and the web have become an inseparable part of modern life for all members of society, especially adolescents, who are considered the Net Generation, Digital Natives, Generation Thumb, and the "anti-generation." Media have not merely become part of our lives; they have come to encompass our entire existence. In such circumstances, the inability to optimize the use of this space and the lack of capacity to manage behavior will entail irreparable harms and losses. Therefore, in this study, the researchers aim to develop an educational package based on theoretical foundations, media psychology, and the experiences of other countries to assist with behavior management, examine its psychometric properties for validation, and subsequently investigate the effect of teaching this package to students on enhancing both their mental health and academic self-regulation. This study not only helps fill the research gap in this field but can also serve as a basis for designing educational programs and preventive interventions at the level of schools and the national educational system.
Research Method
This study is fundamental-applied in terms of its objective and, regarding data type and collection technique, employs a mixed-methods approach of the instrument development model type (Saadipour, Vol. 2, 2024). Accordingly, the first phase of the study, aimed at developing an educational package for behavior management in cyberspace, is qualitative in nature. The second phase, which examines the effectiveness of the developed educational package on students' mental health and academic self-regulation, is a quantitative study and an experimental study using a pretest-posttest design with a control group.
Discussion and Conclusion
The hypothesis of this study, which was confirmed, was that the mental health of students who received cyberspace behavior management training (the experimental group) is higher than that of those who did not receive this training. Examples of research consistent with the findings of this study include Ahmadi-far and Abdi (2022); Baradaran and Ranjbar Noshahri (2022); Harrer et al. (2019); Orang et al. (2023); Dashti (2022); Koohi-Aghdam et al. (2024); Nemati (2024); and Nejati (2024). According to the aforementioned studies, it can be concluded that cyberspace behavior management training can have positive effects on students' mental health, especially when such training is delivered purposefully and with the participation of teachers and parents. However, improper and excessive use of cyberspace can lead to serious psychological problems. Therefore, designing and implementing appropriate educational programs and intelligently managing cyberspace is essential for maintaining and promoting students' mental health.
The other hypothesis of this study, which was confirmed, was that the academic self-regulation of students who received cyberspace behavior management training is higher than that of those who did not receive this training. Examples of research consistent with the findings of the present study include Zimmerman (2002); Pintrich (2004); Sánchez-Martínez and Otero (2021); Schunk and DiBenedetto (2020); Kostnić and McLaren (2020); Duckworth and Steinberg (2015); Tsai et al. (2020); Pintrich and Zusho (2007); Ahmadi et al. (2022); Bahrami and Kazemi (2021); Jafari and Mousavi (2020); Hosseini and Nouri (2023); Nasiri et al. (2023); Rezaei and Mousavi (2020); and Sharifi and Amiri (2021).
Therefore, it can be concluded that cyberspace behavior management training, by providing a suitable platform for enhancing self-regulation skills, plays an important role in improving students' academic performance and success. It is recommended that schools and educational institutions design and implement such training programs to improve learning quality and academic achievement, thereby benefiting from their positive impact on students' academic self-regulation.
Keywords
Academic self-regulation
mental health
cyberspace
behavior management
Subjects
References (In Persian)
Ahin, N. (2011). Teenagers and social media use: A comprehensive study. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26(3), 345–367.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Stress in America™ 2020: A national mental health crisis. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report
American Psychological Association. (2021). Stress in America™ 2021: Stress and decision-making during the pandemic. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2021/report
American Psychological Association. (2021). Social media and mental health among teens: Risks and benefits. https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-mental-health
Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
Azevedo, R., & Cromley, J. G. (2004). Does training on self-regulated learning facilitate students' learning with hypermedia? Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 523–535. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.3.523
Bandura, A. (2005). The evolution of social cognitive theory. In K. G. Smith & M. A. Hitt (Eds.), Great minds in management (pp. 9–35). Oxford University Press.
Boekaerts, M., Pintrich, P. R., & Zeidner, M. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of self-regulation. Academic Press.
Bouffard, T., Boisvert, J., Vezeau, C., & Larouche, C. (1995). The impact of goal orientation on self-regulation and performance among college students. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65(3), 317–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1995.tb01152.x
Caplan, S. E. (2007). Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(2), 234–242. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9963
Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2012). Personal learning environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.06.002
Duckworth, A. L., & Steinberg, L. (2015). Unpacking self-control. Child Development Perspectives, 9(1), 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12107
Efklides, A. (2012). Links of metacognition with intrinsic motivation and affect in mathematics: The age effects. Metacognition and Learning, 7(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-011-9085-5
Gambo, S., & Özad, B. O. (2020). The demographics of computer-mediated communication: A review of social media demographic trends among social networking site giants. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 2, 100016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2020.100016
Gambo, Y., & Ozad, B. (2020). Social media networks: Functions and psychological impacts. Journal of Digital Communication, 12(2), 112–130. https://doi.org/xxxx
Goldberg, D. P., & Hillier, V. F. (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 9(1), 139–145. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700021644
Harer, J. B., et al. (2019). Digital interventions for mental health in adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(6), 697–705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.02.010
Harrer, M., Adam, S. H., Messner, E. M., Baumeister, H., Cuijpers, P., Bruffaerts, R., & Ebert, D. D. (2019). Internet interventions for mental health in university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 28(2), e1759. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1759
Ifenthaler, D. (2012). Determining the effectiveness of prompts for self-regulated learning in problem-solving scenarios. Educational Technology & Society, 15(1), 38–52.
Janosz, M. (2012). Distraction or engagement? The impact of social media on student learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 47(2), 163–181. https://doi.org/10.2190/EC.47.2.d
Kaplan, A. (2007). Clarifying metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning: What's the purpose? Educational Psychology Review, 19(4), 477–488. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-007-9047-2
Kitsantas, A., Winsler, A., & Huie, F. (2008). Self-regulation and ability predictors of academic success during college: A predictive validity study. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(1), 42–68. https://doi.org/10.4219/jaa-2008-867
Klassen, R. M., Krawchuk, L. L., & Rajani, S. (2008). Academic procrastination of undergraduates: Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(4), 915–931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2007.07.001
Kosteniuk, J., & McLaren, S. (2020). Managing distractions to improve student focus in digital learning environments. Journal of Educational Technology, 17(4), 215–229.
Kostnik, K., & McLaren, B. M. (2020). Digital distraction and self-regulation in online learning environments. Computers & Education, 145, 103740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103740
Magno, C. (2010). The role of metacognitive skills in developing critical thinking. Metacognition and Learning, 5(2), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-010-9054-4
Nooral, A. (2018). Popular social media platforms and their societal impact. Social Media Studies, 5(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/xxxx
Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 385–407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-004-0006-x
Pintrich, P. R., & De Groot, E. V. (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.82.1.33
Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2007). Student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom. In P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 731–758). Routledge.
Popa, C. (2015). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement in primary education: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 16, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.07.003
Roulland, A., et al. (2005). Self-regulation in online learning environments: A review of literature. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504684
Sánchez Martínez, M., & Otero, A. (2021). The impact of social media use on academic performance: A study on students’ self-regulation. Computers & Education, 165, 104144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104144
Sánchez-Martínez, M., & Otero, A. (2021). Digital self-regulation in adolescents: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 32, 100378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100378
Schunk, D. H., & Dibenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101832
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Soldow, J., et al. (2014). Academic stress and mental health in high school students. Educational Psychology Review, 30(4), 501–520. https://doi.org/xxxx
Stamov-Roßnagel, C., & Standl, B. (2002). Self-regulation and learning in older adults. Educational Gerontology, 28(7), 585–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601270290099777
Tsai, C. C., Hsu, Y. S., & Tsai, M. J. (2020). Technology-enhanced learning and self-regulation: An integrative review. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57(8), 2003–2030. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633118820441
Tsai, J., et al. (2020). Self-regulation and academic achievement in online learning environments. Computers & Education, 145, 103740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103740
Tuckman, B. W. (2003). The effect of learning and motivation strategies training on college students’ achievement. Journal of College Student Development, 44(3), 430–437. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2003.0034
Turhan, N. S., & Demirel, Ö. (2010). Self-regulated learning strategies and academic achievement. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 1333–1337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.194
Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702617723376
Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000047
World Health Organization. (2021). Suicide worldwide in 2019: Global health estimates. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026643
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13–39). Academic Press.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 82–91. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1016
Zweig, J., & Sklar, J. (2005). Technology and self-regulation in higher education. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33(3), 305–328. https://doi.org/10.2190/EC.33.3
New Media Studies
Volume 11, Issue 43
Spring 2026
Pages 82-51