Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Meaning in Life

Overview

Journal Front Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2022 Jul 7

PMID 35795697

Authors

Ying Liu

Jinsheng Hu

Jia Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Identifying which factors influence depressive symptom during the COVID-19 pandemic is highly significant for psychological crisis interventions among adolescents. Social support is likely to be one of the main factors. However, the underlying mechanism is still not well understood in the context of COVID-19. The current study examines whether loneliness and meaning in life mediate the association between social support and depressive symptoms in adolescents. A sample of 1,317 high school students in China were surveyed using the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Chinese Child Loneliness Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. The results showed that social support predicted depressive symptoms directly and indirectly by enhancing loneliness and diminishing the sense of meaning in life. These findings help in providing new entry points in the design of effective depression prevention and intervention for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing Articles

Relations between perceived social support and prosocial behavior among Chinese college students during online learning: Testing mediation and moderation models of meaning in life.

Lyu C Heliyon. 2024; 10(18):e37677.

PMID: 39323776 PMC: 11422598. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37677.

Strengthening the meaning in life among college students: the role of self-acceptance and social support - evidence from a network analysis.

Wu C, Liu X, Liu J, Tao Y, Li Y Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1433609.

PMID: 39077206 PMC: 11284095. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1433609.

Comparison of depression and anxiety in first- versus non-first generation Saudi medical students: A cross-sectional study.

Almadani A, Alsubaihi A, Alsqabi H, Alkathiri M, Alassaf M, Alagel O Medicine (Baltimore). 2024; 103(30):e39115.

PMID: 39058812 PMC: 11272298. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039115.

Exploring the differential effects of psychological resilience and social support in mitigating post-traumatic psychiatric symptoms: real-world network analysis of front-line rescuers.

Cheng P, Wang L, Zhou Y, Ma W, Li W BJPsych Open. 2024; 10(3):e109.

PMID: 38725358 PMC: 11094433. DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2024.64.

Purpose in life, loneliness and depression among patients with substance use disorders in the psychiatric hospitals in Ghana.

Nkyi A, Ninnoni J PLoS One. 2024; 19(4):e0299391.

PMID: 38635509 PMC: 11025759. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299391.

References

Twenge J, Catanese K, Baumeister R . Social exclusion and the deconstructed state: time perception, meaninglessness, lethargy, lack of emotion, and self-awareness. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003; 85(3):409-23. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.409. View

Chen Y, Zhou H, Zhou Y, Zhou F . Prevalence of self-reported depression and anxiety among pediatric medical staff members during the COVID-19 outbreak in Guiyang, China. Psychiatry Res. 2020; 288:113005. PMC: 7160637. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113005. View

King L, Geise A . Being forgotten: implications for the experience of meaning in life. J Soc Psychol. 2012; 151(6):696-709. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2010.522620. View

de Jong E, Ziegler N, Schippers M . From Shattered Goals to Meaning in Life: Life Crafting in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:577708. PMC: 7593511. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577708. View

Zhang Y, Jin S . The impact of social support on postpartum depression: The mediator role of self-efficacy. J Health Psychol. 2014; 21(5):720-6. DOI: 10.1177/1359105314536454. View

Kestler-Peleg M, Lavenda O . Optimism as a mediator of the association between social support and peripartum depression among mothers of neonatal intensive care unit hospitalized preterm infants. Stress Health. 2021; 37(4):826-832. DOI: 10.1002/smi.3033. View

Cohen S, Wills T . Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychol Bull. 1985; 98(2):310-57. View

Podsakoff P, Mackenzie S, Lee J, Podsakoff N . Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol. 2003; 88(5):879-903. DOI: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879. View

Seeds P, Harkness K, Quilty L . Parental maltreatment, bullying, and adolescent depression: evidence for the mediating role of perceived social support. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2010; 39(5):681-92. DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2010.501289. View

10.

Kung S, Alarcon R, Williams M, Poppe K, Moore M, Frye M . Comparing the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression measures in an integrated mood disorders practice. J Affect Disord. 2012; 145(3):341-3. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.08.017. View

11.

Forgeron P, McGrath P, Stevens B, Evans J, Dick B, Finley A . Social information processing in adolescents with chronic pain: my friends don't really understand me. Pain. 2011; 152(12):2773-2780. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.09.001. View

12.

Milaniak I, Wilczek Ruzyczka E, Przybylowski P . Mediating effect of coping strategies on the relation between social support and depressive symptoms among patients after cardiac transplantation. Psychiatr Pol. 2021; 55(2):331-344. DOI: 10.12740/PP/118055. View

13.

Ursano R, Kessler R, Naifeh J, Mash H, Fullerton C, Bliese P . Frequency of Improvised Explosive Devices and Suicide Attempts in the U.S. Army. Mil Med. 2017; 182(3):e1697-e1703. PMC: 5459305. DOI: 10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00270. View

14.

Liu L, Gou Z, Zuo J . Social support mediates loneliness and depression in elderly people. J Health Psychol. 2014; 21(5):750-8. DOI: 10.1177/1359105314536941. View

15.

Bareeqa S, Ahmed S, Samar S, Yasin W, Zehra S, Monese G . Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in china during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Int J Psychiatry Med. 2020; 56(4):210-227. DOI: 10.1177/0091217420978005. View

16.

Li M, Jiang X, Ren Y . Mediator Effects of Positive Emotions on Social Support and Depression among Adolescents Suffering from Mobile Phone Addiction. Psychiatr Danub. 2017; 29(2):207-213. DOI: 10.24869/psyd.2017.207. View

17.

Tan W, Hao F, McIntyre R, Jiang L, Jiang X, Zhang L . Is returning to work during the COVID-19 pandemic stressful? A study on immediate mental health status and psychoneuroimmunity prevention measures of Chinese workforce. Brain Behav Immun. 2020; 87:84-92. PMC: 7179503. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.055. View

18.

Oishi S, Diener E . Residents of poor nations have a greater sense of meaning in life than residents of wealthy nations. Psychol Sci. 2013; 25(2):422-30. DOI: 10.1177/0956797613507286. View

19.

Liu C, Zhang E, Wong G, Hyun S, Hahm H . Factors associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical implications for U.S. young adult mental health. Psychiatry Res. 2020; 290:113172. PMC: 7263263. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113172. View

20.

Hefner J, Eisenberg D . Social support and mental health among college students. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2010; 79(4):491-9. DOI: 10.1037/a0016918. View