Impulse Control and Short-Drama Addiction:The Mediating Role of Narrative Transportation 

Sun JiaPeng

Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology，Hainan Haikou，571126；

Abstract：With the rapid development of short-form drama content on short-video platforms, short-drama addiction has emerged as a new behavioral problem. Compared with general short videos, the continuous narrative structure and high plot density of short dramas more readily induce immersive experiences, yet the underlying psychological mechanisms remain unclear. Based on the I-PACE model, this study examines the pathway through which impulse control influences short-drama addiction via narrative transportation. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 391 Chinese college students, using contextually adapted scales to measure key variables. Structural equation modeling and the Bootstrap method were employed to test the mediating effect. Results indicate that impulse control significantly and negatively predicts both narrative transportation and short-drama addiction, while narrative transportation significantly and positively predicts short-drama addiction and partially mediates their relationship. Individuals with lower impulse control are more likely to experience narrative immersion, thereby increasing addiction risk. This study extends the explanatory scope of the I-PACE framework to short-drama contexts and provides implications for intervention.

Keywords: short-drama addiction; impulse control; narrative transportation; I-PACE model; structural equation modeling

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