Campus exclusion and deviant behaviors of Chinese adolescents: Fear of missing out as a mediator

We investigated the mediating role of fear of missing out in the relationship between campus exclusion and the deviant behaviors of Chinese adolescents. Deviant behaviors were measured using items included in the China Education Panel Survey, and the survey we conducted with 831 Chinese adolescents also included the Adolescent Campus Exclusion Questionnaire and the Chinese version of the Fear of Missing Out Scale. We found that campus exclusion, fear of missing out, and deviant behaviors were significantly and positively associated with one another. Fear of missing out played a mediating role in the relationship between campus exclusion and deviant behaviors. To some extent, our findings reveal the mechanism of adolescents’ deviant behaviors and have implications for teachers and parents in intervening in and preventing deviant behaviors in this group.