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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1460064

How does Internet Use impact the mental health of social assistance recipients in China? Examining the chain mediating role of social support and family resilience

Provisionally accepted
Bin Wu Bin Wu Beihai Tian Beihai Tian *
  • Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

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

    Introduction: Previous studies have explored the relationship between internet use and mental health, but there has been a lack of focus on social assistance recipients. Additionally, there has been insufficient discussion on the impact mechanisms of social support and family resilience on this relationship. This study aims to fill these gaps. Using data from social assistance recipients in China, this study analyzes the relationship between Internet use and the mental health of social assistance recipients and its mechanisms based on the Mindsponge Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory. Methods: This study used multiple linear regression models and PROCESS models to complete data analysis on 765 Chinese social assistance recipients samples to test the hypothesis. All analyses were performed using SPSS26.0 and MPlus 8.0. Results: The empirical analysis shows that Internet use positively correlates with the mental health of social assistance recipients, and social support and family resilience mediate between Internet use and mental health. In addition, social support and family resilience also play a chain mediating role in the relationship between Internet use and mental health. Discussion: The analysis results of this study support our hypothesis. Combined with the findings of this study, we discussed the theoretical significance, practical significance, limitations, and future research directions of this study.

    Keywords: Internet use, Mental Health, social support, family resilience, social assistance recipients, mindsponge theory, COR theory

    Received: 05 Jul 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu and Tian. 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: Beihai Tian, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 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.