Disconnected in a connected world: Shyness, social media addiction, and suicidality among college students during the COVID-19 crisis

The mental health of college students is a growing global concern, yet limited research has explored how stable personality traits, such as shyness, contribute to suicide risk. This study examined whether depression, loneliness, and social media addiction mediate the relationship between shyness and suicidality among Israeli college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the Interpersonal theory of suicide and the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) model, we tested a path model using structural equation modeling (N = 911). Results indicated that all three variables significantly mediated the link between shyness and suicidality (total indirect effect: β =.35, p <.001), with the full model explaining 48% of the variance in suicidality (R² =.48). These findings underscore the role of dispositional traits in suicide risk and highlight the need for culturally sensitive, targeted interventions—particularly in times of global crisis.