Social support and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students: Social anxiety and loneliness as chain mediators

Depression is a major issue affecting the mental health of college students, and alleviating depressive symptoms among this population has long been a focus of research. In this study we explored the impact of social support on depressive symptoms in college students, as well as the mediating roles of social anxiety and loneliness. Participants were 851 Chinese college students who completed the Social Support Scale, the Interaction Anxiousness Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The results indicated that social support significantly reduced depressive symptoms, and social anxiety and loneliness played a chain mediation role in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms. The findings offer implications for preventing and alleviating depressive symptoms among college students.