Objective: This study aimed to examine how mothers’ perceived spousal support influences social comparison on social networking services (SNS) through the mediating roles of social isolation and parenting anxiety.
Methods: The study participants comprised 689 mothers of children aged 0–6 years, who shared child-related content on SNS. Sequential mediating effects were analyzed using PROCESS Macro Model 6.
Results: Lower perceived spousal support was associated with higher social isolation, which consequently increased parenting anxiety, and subsequently strengthened mothers’ tendencies towards social comparison on SNS. This sequential mediation effect was statistically significant.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that mothers’ SNS social comparison may reflect certain psychological responses to emotional stress and vulnerability related to insufficient spousal support. Interventions that strengthen spousal support and reduce mothers’ social isolation and parenting anxiety can help to mitigate negative social comparison on SNS. This study contributes to the literature by linking parents’ digital behaviors with psychosocial factors in the family context.