Abstract: Young people are characterized by uncertainty, plasticity and volatility in their psychological development, and the use of media has a great influence on their psychological development and mental health, whose mechanism is complex. The academic circle has mainly discussed the influence of media on youth’s social cognition and mental health from the perspective of media types, with more direct path analysis. However, less research has been made on the internal mechanism from the perspectives of the purpose-oriented media use behavior. Based on the large sample survey data of national youth and using the two social cognitive variables of family health and self-efficacy, this paper constructs a chain mediating model of the influence mechanism of media use behavior on depression. After corresponding verification, it is found that media use behavior can positively predict youth depression. Family health and self-efficacy play an intermediary role between youth media use behavior and depression, with a significant masking effect. At the same time, the chain mediating effect of the two also presents a masking effect. Besides, through multi-group analysis, it is found that media use behavior of the youth between the age of 15 and 18 has a more significant impact on their depression, while those between 19 and 24 has a more significant impact on family health and self-efficacy. Under the guidance of the theories of ecosystem and social cognition, this paper reveals the particularity of the influencing factors and paths of youth depression, and provides targeted evidence for the prevention and intervention of youth depression. It is hoped that the study could provide reference to improve the prevention and intervention strategies for youth depression.

Key words: media use behavior, youth, depression, family health, self-efficacy