Social support and subjective well-being of left-behind children in China: Chain mediation of grit and hope

Left-behind rural children are a special group that has emerged as a result of the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization in China. We adopted a positive perspective to examine the relationship between social support and subjective well-being among 343 rural left-behind children, incorporating the mediating roles of grit and hope. The results showed that social support significantly and positively predicted the subjective well-being of left-behind children. Further, grit and hope acted as both independent and chain mediators of this relationship. Therefore, to enhance the subjective well-being of left-behind children, it is crucial to focus on integrating external social support resources and simultaneously activate their internal psychological strength so that they learn to discover and proactively harness the positive psychological traits of hope and grit. This internal–external synergy intervention model can tangibly elevate their sense of happiness.