Profile of Dr AHORSU, Daniel Kwasi - The Education University of Hong Kong


Research Assistant Professor	Department of Special Education and Counselling

Contact

ORCiD

0000-0003-0530-8138

Phone

(852) 2948 8590

Fax

(852) 2948 7794

dkahorsu@eduhk.hk

Address

10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

Website

https://pappl.eduhk.hk/rich/web/person.xhtml?pid=297789&name=AHORSU, Daniel Kwasi

Scopus ID

57213598223

Research Outputs


Journal Publications Polat, M., Kara, M., Oppong, D., & Ahorsu, D.K. (2025). Adaptation of Perceived Social Media Literacy Scale to Turkish Culture: The Case of Educators. Journal of Social Media Research, 2(2), 90-103. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.21 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Huang, P.-C., Wu, H.-C., Chen, J.-K., Fung, X.C.C., Bevan, N., Ahorsu, D.K., Griffiths, M.D., Chen, J.-S., Lee, K.-H., Pakpour, A.H., & Lin, C.-Y. (2025). The Mediating Role of Physical Activity Avoidance in the Association Between Weight Stigma and Physical Activity. Acta Psychologica, 257, Article 105107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105107 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ye, J., Fang, J., Yang, S., Xiang, Q., & Ahorsu, D. K.* (2025). Effects of Baduanjin Exercise on Depression Severity and Heart Rate Variability in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.. Psychology Research and Behavior Management,, 18, 505–514.. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S499936 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ye, J., Huang, P.-C., Adjaottor, E.S., Addo, F.-M., Griffiths, M.D., Ahorsu, D.K., & Lin, C.-Y. (2025). Associations between Fear of COVID-19 and Mental Health in Ghana: A Sequential Mediation Model. Heliyon, 11(1), Article e41407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41407 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Liu, T.-Y., Ko, W.-T., Pramkuti, I., Griffiths, M.D., Pakpour, A.H., Üztemur, S., Huang, P.-C., Ahorsu, D.K., & Lin, C.-Y (2024). Emotion Regulation in the Associations of Inattention/hyperactivity with Distress. American Journal of Health Behavior, 48(6), 1651-1662. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.48.6.16 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ahorsu, D.K., Chen, C.-Y., Chen, I.-H., Pakpour, A.H., Bevan, N., Chen, J.-S., Wang, X.L., Ko, P.-J., Griffiths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). The Perceived Weight Stigma Scale and Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire: Rasch analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and network analysis among Chinese adolescents. Public Health, 236, 373-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.08.016 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Huang, Y.-T., Ahorsu, D.K., Adjaottor, E.S., Addo, F.-M., Griffiths, M.D., Pakpour, A.H., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Instruments Assessing Problematic Use of the Internet and Their Associations with Psychological Distress among Ghanaian University Students. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(11), 875-885. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.057049 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Liu, T.-Y., Ko, W.-T., Griffiths, M. D., Pakpour, A. H., Üztemur, S., Ahorsu, D. K., Huang, P.-C., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). The Associations Between Levels of Inattention/hyperactivity and Social Media Addiction among Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Emotional Regulation Strategies in Self-blame and Blaming Others. Acta Psychologica, 251, Article 104338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104338 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ahorsu, D. K. (2024). Pathways to social media addiction: Examining its prevalence, and predictive factors among Ghanaian youths.. Journal of Social Media Research,, 1(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.9 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Chang, K.-C., Ahorsu, D.K., Tsai, H.-C., Strong, C., Ko, N.-Y., Chen, J.-S., Yen, C.-F., Üztemur, S., Griffiths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Parallel Mediating Effects of Sleep Quality, Psychological Distress, and Self-stigma in the Associations Between long COVID Symptoms and Quality of Life among Taiwanese Individuals with Mental Health Illness. Brain and Behavior, 14(10), Article e70094. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70094 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ruckwongpatr, K., Ahorsu, D.K., Pimsen, A., Paratthakonkun, C., Tung, S.E.H., Pramukti, I., Bevan, N., Chen, J.-S., Huang, C.H., Pakpour, A.H., Grifﬁths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Validation and Measurement Invariance of the Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale (TAPAS) among Thai Young Adults. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 48(3), 308-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/01632787241271117 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ahorsu, D. K., Potenza, M. N., Lin, C. Y., & Pakpour, A. H. (2024). Parental intention on getting children COVID-19 vaccinations: Invariance evaluation across parenting roles and COVID-19-like symptoms experiences among Iranians during the pandemic period. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 20(1), Article 2325230. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2024.2325230 Han, Y. M., Chan, M. M., Choi, C. X., Law, M. C., Ahorsu, D. K., & Tsang, H. W. (2023). The neurobiological effects of mind–body exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 10948. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37309-4 Ahorsu, D. K., Adjorlolo, S., Nurmala, I., Kamolthip, R., Strong, C., & Lin, C.-Y. (2023). Problematic Porn Use and cross-cultural differences: A brief review. Current Addiction Reports, ., .. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-023-00505-3 Chen, S.-H., Chen, P.-J., Lee, C.-H., Wu, Y.-P., Ahorsu, DK., Griffiths, MD., Lin, C.-Y. (2023). Perceived stress mediating the association between mindfulness and resilience among registered nurses. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, .. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S412918 Ahorsu, D. K., Imani, V., Lin, C. Y., Timpka, T., Broström, A., Updegraff, J. A., ... & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). Associations between fear of COVID-19, mental health, and preventive behaviours across pregnant women and husbands: An actor-partner interdependence modelling. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00340-x Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 1537-1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Marznaki, Z. H., & H Pakpour, A. (2022). The association between fear of COVID-19 and mental health: The mediating roles of burnout and job stress among emergency nursing staff. Nursing Open, 9(2), 1147-1154. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1154 Fazeli, S., Zeidi, I. M., Lin, C. Y., Namdar, P., Griffiths, M. D., Ahorsu, D. K., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). Depression, anxiety, and stress mediate the associations between internet gaming disorder, insomnia, and quality of life during the COVID-19 outbreak. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 12, Article 100307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100307 Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C.-Y., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). The association between health status and insomnia, mental health, and preventive behaviors: The mediating role of fear of COVID-19.. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine,, 6, Article 2333721420966081.. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721420966081 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being

Journal Publications
Polat, M., Kara, M., Oppong, D., & Ahorsu, D.K. (2025). Adaptation of Perceived Social Media Literacy Scale to Turkish Culture: The Case of Educators. Journal of Social Media Research, 2(2), 90-103. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.21
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Huang, P.-C., Wu, H.-C., Chen, J.-K., Fung, X.C.C., Bevan, N., Ahorsu, D.K., Griffiths, M.D., Chen, J.-S., Lee, K.-H., Pakpour, A.H., & Lin, C.-Y. (2025). The Mediating Role of Physical Activity Avoidance in the Association Between Weight Stigma and Physical Activity. Acta Psychologica, 257, Article 105107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105107
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ye, J., Fang, J., Yang, S., Xiang, Q., & Ahorsu, D. K.* (2025). Effects of Baduanjin Exercise on Depression Severity and Heart Rate Variability in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.. Psychology Research and Behavior Management,, 18, 505–514.. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S499936
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ye, J., Huang, P.-C., Adjaottor, E.S., Addo, F.-M., Griffiths, M.D., Ahorsu, D.K., & Lin, C.-Y. (2025). Associations between Fear of COVID-19 and Mental Health in Ghana: A Sequential Mediation Model. Heliyon, 11(1), Article e41407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41407
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Liu, T.-Y., Ko, W.-T., Pramkuti, I., Griffiths, M.D., Pakpour, A.H., Üztemur, S., Huang, P.-C., Ahorsu, D.K., & Lin, C.-Y (2024). Emotion Regulation in the Associations of Inattention/hyperactivity with Distress. American Journal of Health Behavior, 48(6), 1651-1662. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.48.6.16
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ahorsu, D.K., Chen, C.-Y., Chen, I.-H., Pakpour, A.H., Bevan, N., Chen, J.-S., Wang, X.L., Ko, P.-J., Griffiths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). The Perceived Weight Stigma Scale and Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire: Rasch analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and network analysis among Chinese adolescents. Public Health, 236, 373-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2024.08.016
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Huang, Y.-T., Ahorsu, D.K., Adjaottor, E.S., Addo, F.-M., Griffiths, M.D., Pakpour, A.H., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Instruments Assessing Problematic Use of the Internet and Their Associations with Psychological Distress among Ghanaian University Students. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(11), 875-885. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.057049
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Liu, T.-Y., Ko, W.-T., Griffiths, M. D., Pakpour, A. H., Üztemur, S., Ahorsu, D. K., Huang, P.-C., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). The Associations Between Levels of Inattention/hyperactivity and Social Media Addiction among Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Emotional Regulation Strategies in Self-blame and Blaming Others. Acta Psychologica, 251, Article 104338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104338
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ahorsu, D. K. (2024). Pathways to social media addiction: Examining its prevalence, and predictive factors among Ghanaian youths.. Journal of Social Media Research,, 1(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.9
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Chang, K.-C., Ahorsu, D.K., Tsai, H.-C., Strong, C., Ko, N.-Y., Chen, J.-S., Yen, C.-F., Üztemur, S., Griffiths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Parallel Mediating Effects of Sleep Quality, Psychological Distress, and Self-stigma in the Associations Between long COVID Symptoms and Quality of Life among Taiwanese Individuals with Mental Health Illness. Brain and Behavior, 14(10), Article e70094. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70094
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ruckwongpatr, K., Ahorsu, D.K., Pimsen, A., Paratthakonkun, C., Tung, S.E.H., Pramukti, I., Bevan, N., Chen, J.-S., Huang, C.H., Pakpour, A.H., Grifﬁths, M.D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2024). Validation and Measurement Invariance of the Tendency to Avoid Physical Activity and Sport Scale (TAPAS) among Thai Young Adults. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 48(3), 308-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/01632787241271117
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ahorsu, D. K., Potenza, M. N., Lin, C. Y., & Pakpour, A. H. (2024). Parental intention on getting children COVID-19 vaccinations: Invariance evaluation across parenting roles and COVID-19-like symptoms experiences among Iranians during the pandemic period. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 20(1), Article 2325230. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2024.2325230
Han, Y. M., Chan, M. M., Choi, C. X., Law, M. C., Ahorsu, D. K., & Tsang, H. W. (2023). The neurobiological effects of mind–body exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 10948. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37309-4
Ahorsu, D. K., Adjorlolo, S., Nurmala, I., Kamolthip, R., Strong, C., & Lin, C.-Y. (2023). Problematic Porn Use and cross-cultural differences: A brief review. Current Addiction Reports, ., .. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-023-00505-3
Chen, S.-H., Chen, P.-J., Lee, C.-H., Wu, Y.-P., Ahorsu, DK., Griffiths, MD., Lin, C.-Y. (2023). Perceived stress mediating the association between mindfulness and resilience among registered nurses. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, .. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S412918
Ahorsu, D. K., Imani, V., Lin, C. Y., Timpka, T., Broström, A., Updegraff, J. A., ... & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). Associations between fear of COVID-19, mental health, and preventive behaviours across pregnant women and husbands: An actor-partner interdependence modelling. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00340-x
Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2022). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 1537-1545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Marznaki, Z. H., & H Pakpour, A. (2022). The association between fear of COVID-19 and mental health: The mediating roles of burnout and job stress among emergency nursing staff. Nursing Open, 9(2), 1147-1154. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1154
Fazeli, S., Zeidi, I. M., Lin, C. Y., Namdar, P., Griffiths, M. D., Ahorsu, D. K., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). Depression, anxiety, and stress mediate the associations between internet gaming disorder, insomnia, and quality of life during the COVID-19 outbreak. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 12, Article 100307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100307
Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C.-Y., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). The association between health status and insomnia, mental health, and preventive behaviors: The mediating role of fear of COVID-19.. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine,, 6, Article 2333721420966081.. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721420966081
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being

Projects


Psychosocial Profiles of Social Media Use: A Comparative Study between Turkish, Taiwanese, Ghanaian and Hong Kong Youths The present study will explore social media use among the youth, focusing on the implications of excessive usage, known as Social Media Addiction (SMA). The study will be structured into three studies, each examining different facets of social media interaction and its psychological impacts. Study 1 will assess the mediating role of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and smartphone addiction, alongside the moderating effect of gender, on the relationship between social media flow and phubbing. Study 2 will explore the mediating influence of FOMO and the moderating role of self-control on the link between social media flow and academic procrastination. Study 3 will investigate the serial mediation of FOMO, social overload, and social media burnout on the relationship between social digital pressure and discontinuous use. Data will be collected from youths in secondary schools and universities (aged 16 years and above). About 500 youths will be recruited from each country or region (i.e., N=2000) to respond to the measures used in the present multifactorial complex predictive correlational design study. Data analysis will include confirmatory factor analysis to validate scales, alongside assessments for common method bias and descriptive statistics. The study utilizes moderated mediation models to analyze the interplay of variables such as SMA, smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, and social media exhaustion. By elucidating these dynamics, the present study aims to identify protective and risk factors influencing social media use, contributing to the development of educational strategies and interventions. The findings are anticipated to enhance understanding of the psychological effects of social media among youths, informing mental health services and policy development to address SMA. Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): AHORSU, Daniel Kwasi SDGs Information: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
Applicability and Effectiveness of Measures Assessing the Mental Health and Coping Strategies of Adolescents in Hong Kong Using the Biopsychosocial‘s Model Project Start Year: 2024, Principal Investigator(s): AHORSU, Daniel Kwasi
Validation of Instruments Assessing Gaming Disorder for Youth: Gaming Disorder Questionnaire (GDT) and Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-AI) Background:Previous studies found that there is insufficient psychometric evidence of instruments addressing gaming disorder (GD). Improving the psychometric tools could identify the defining characteristics of GD. Therefore, the validation of GD psychometric assessment could improve the GD diagnostic criteria. Purpose: This study aims to investigate the validation of the psychometric properties for two instruments assessing GD (i.e., Gaming Disorder Questionnaire (GDT), and Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A)) Methods: The study will be conducted using asurvey and university students will be the target population. Data collection will include demographics, GDT, GADIS-A, Internet Gaming Disorder Scale - short form (IGDS-SF9), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21), Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application Based Addiction Scale (SABAS). Descriptive analysis will be used to examine the participant’s characteristics. Chi-square, independent t-test, and ANOVA will be used to examine the differences in participant’s characteristics. For questionnaire validation, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, and concurrent validity will be examined. Expected Results: The result of this study will provide a greater potential for psychometric measurement of GD diagnostic criteria which are based on ICD-11. Additionally, the reliable and valid tools might improve the suitability of assessing the problem behaviour of GD. Project Start Year: 2023, Principal Investigator(s): AHORSU, Daniel Kwasi