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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1424983
This article is part of the Research Topic Youth Mental Health, Particularly in Asian Populations View all 9 articles

The Chain Mediating Role of Social Support and Positive Coping Between Neuroticism and Depressive Symptoms Among Graduate Students

Provisionally accepted
Peng Wan Peng Wan Jinsheng Hu Jinsheng Hu *Qingshuo Yang Qingshuo Yang *
  • College of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Graduate students face unprecedented levels of neuroticism and pressure compared to their peers. Despite existing research examining the connection between neuroticism and depressive symptoms, a gap in the current understanding of the mediating mechanisms that act on this relationship, especially among this specific student population. Methods: This study investigated the potential chain-mediating roles of social support and positive coping in the relationship between neuroticism and depressive symptoms among graduate students. The participants were 1845 graduate students who provided demographic information and complete assessments including the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Depression Rating Scale (BDI-II), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). The analysis involved correlational analysis and a chain mediation model was used to investigate the associations among neuroticism, social support, positive coping mechanisms, and depressive symptoms. Results: The results show significant correlations among neuroticism, depressive symptoms, social support, and positive coping. Moreover, our findings verify that neuroticism affects depressive symptoms in graduate students through three pathways: the mediating effect of social support, the mediating effect of positive coping, and the chain-mediating effect of social support and positive coping. Discussion: Overall, the hypothesized chain model conclusively fits the data: Neuroticism directly affects depressive symptoms among graduate students and influences depressive symptoms through the mediating effects of social support and positive coping, as well as the chain mediating effects of these two variables.

    Keywords: graduate students, neuroticism, social support, Positive coping, depressive symptoms

    Received: 29 Apr 2024; Accepted: 06 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wan, Hu and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jinsheng Hu, College of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
    Qingshuo Yang, College of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.