Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

The Mediating Role of Loneliness Between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Rural Adolescents During Covid-19 Outbreak

A Comparative Study Between Left-Behind and Non-left-behind Students

Bibliographic Data

ID15517833
AuthorsTianya Hou (0000-0001-7361-1935, Second Military Medical University), Yawei Xie (Second Military Medical University), Xiaofei Mao (Second Military Medical University), Liu Ying (0000-0003-4104-7051, Second Military Medical University), Jianguo Zhang (0000-0001-7057-2862, Second Military Medical University), Jing Wen (0000-0001-6458-8884, Second Military Medical University), Yan Chen (0000-0003-4119-9688, Second Military Medical University), Zhechao Luo (Second Military Medical University), Wenpeng Cai (0000-0001-5553-4614, Second Military Medical University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Publication date2021-08-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.740094
OpenAlexW3195149176
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited29

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted people's life across the globe. In a public health crisis, rural adolescents are more prone to mental health problems. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Chinese rural adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak, and examine the association between perceived social support and depressive symptoms and its underlying mechanisms. Method: Perceived Social Support Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were administrated to 826 rural adolescents from Anhui Province, China, amid the COVID-19 crisis. Mackinnon's four-step procedure was employed to examine the mediating effect, while Hayes PROCESS macro was utilized to test the moderated mediation model. Results: The results showed the rate of depressive symptoms among rural adolescents in China was 77.6% during the outbreak of COVID-19. Female left-behind students and non-left-behind students from disrupted families experienced more depressive symptoms (all P < 0.05). Loneliness mediated the association between perceive social support and depressive symptoms and the indirect effect was stronger in left-behind adolescents in comparison to non-left-behind adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms are extremely prevalent among Chinese rural adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak, and perceived social support plays a protective role against depressive symptoms. Chinese rural adolescents, especially left-behind students, could benefit from the interventions aimed at enhancing the perceived social support and reducing loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Loneliness · Mental health · Moderated mediation · Psychiatry · Social support · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

  • Exploring the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Psychological Resilience Among Chinese Adolescents in Post-Pandemic Online Learning Contexts

    Open Access•Yi Dai, Jingjing Luo et al.•INQUIRY The Journal of Health…•2026

  • A serial mediation model of sense of belonging to university and life satisfaction

    Open Access•Hadi Samadieh, Mehdi Rezaei•Acta Psychologica•2024

  • Perceived stigma among discharged patients of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China

    Open Access•Yijin Wu, Zhenwei Dai et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2023

  • The relationship between health-promoting behaviors and negative emotions in college freshmen

    Open Access•Yunfei Tao, Jinlong Wu et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2024

  • Parental democratic communication and adolescent well-being in an era of loneliness

    Open Access•Simin Liu, Sydney X Hu et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2024

  • Uptake and hesitancy of the second booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine among the general population in China after the surge period of the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open Access•Xin Liu, You Xin et al.•BMC Public Health•2025

  • Mediating Role of Resilience between Social Support and PTSD of Nursing Staff during Public Health Emergency in China

    Xiaofei Mao, Youyuan Fei et al.•American Journal of Health Behavior•2024

  • Social support and mental health symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open Access•Xing Zhang, Yanyu Xiao et al.•Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology•2025

  • The relationship between perceived social support with anxiety, depression, and insomnia among Chinese college students during the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open Access•Guojun Zhao, Fusen Xie et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2022

  • Cultural Dimensions Moderate the Association between Loneliness and Mental Health during Adolescence and Younger Adulthood

    Open Access•Jing-Ai Wang, Hai-Fan Wang et al.•Journal of Youth and Adolescence•2024

  • Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis

    David P Mackinnon, David MacKinnon•Introduction to Statistical…•2012

  • Understanding Emotion in Adolescents

    Open Access•Natasha H Bailen, Lauren M Green et al.•Emotion Review•2019

  • Loneliness and pathways to disease

    Open Access•Louise C Hawkley, John T Cacioppo•Brain, Behavior, and Immunity•2003

  • Depression and anxiety among adolescents during Covid-19

    Open Access•Fangping Chen, Dan Zheng et al.•Brain, Behavior, and Immunity•2020

  • Socio-economic status, family disruption and residential stability in childhood

    Open Access•Stephen E Gilman, Ichiro Kawachi et al.•Psychological Medicine•2003

  • Loneliness and problematic mobile phone use among adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open Access•Jiayu Li, Danni Zhan et al.•Addictive Behaviors•2021

  • Social isolation

    Open Access•John T Cacioppo, Louise C Hawkley et al.•Annals of the New York Academy of…•2011

  • The ABCs of depression

    Janet Shibley Hyde, Amy H Mezulis et al.•Psychological Review•2008

  • The role of perceived social support on depression and sleep during the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open Access•Ian Grey, Twinkle Arora et al.•Psychiatry Research•2020

  • Psychometric Characteristics of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

    Gregory D Zimet, Suzanne Powell et al.•Journal of Personality Assessment•1990

  • Social Networks, Host Resistance, and Mortality

    Lisa F Berkman, Lisa Berkman et al.•American Journal of Epidemiology•1979

  • Fathers’ involvement and left-behind children’s mental health in China

    Open Access•Wei Wu, R Xie et al.•Current Psychology•2023

  • The Role of Intact Family Childhood on Women's Earnings Capacity

    Richard K Caputo, Susan E Mason•Journal of Evidence-Based Social…•2009

  • The Mediating Role of Perceived Social Support Between Resilience and Anxiety 1 Year After the Covid-19 Pandemic

    Open Access•Tianya Hou, Qianlan Yin et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2021

  • Sexual behavior of migrant workers in Shanghai, China

    Open Access•Wei Dai, Jian Gao et al.•BMC Public Health•2015

  • Socioeconomic status and substance use among Swiss young men

    Open Access•Eleni Charitonidi, Joseph Studer et al.•BMC Public Health•2016

  • Interventions for reducing loneliness

    Open Access•Nicola Veronese, Daiana Galvano et al.•Health & Social Care in the…•2021

  • Self-rated health among elders in different outmigration areas—a case study of rural Anhui, China

    Open Access•Weizhen Dong•The Journal of Chinese Sociology•2019

  • Migration and health in China

    Open Access•Senhu Wang, Yang Hu•Population Space and Place•2019

  • Perceived social support and self-esteem mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychosocial flourishing in Chinese undergraduate students

    Open Access•Bingbing Li, Yangu Pan et al.•Children and Youth Services Review•2020

  • Impact of perceived social support on depression in Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrants

    Open Access•Dekuo Liang, Mingjun Teng et al.•Journal of Community Psychology•2019

  • Social support and mental health among college students

    Jennifer L Hefner, Dan Eisenberg et al.•American Journal of Orthopsychiatry•2009

  • The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

    Gregory D Zimet, Nancy Wray Dahlem et al.•Journal of Personality Assessment•1988

  • Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix

    Donald T Campbell, Donald W Fiske•Psychological Bulletin•1959

  • Gender differences in depression in representative national samples

    Open Access•Rachel H Salk, Janet Shibley Hyde et al.•Psychological Bulletin•2017

  • Internal migration and health

    Open Access•Juan Chen•Social Science & Medicine•2011

  • Intergeneration social support affects the subjective well-being of the elderly

    Open Access•Qian Tian, Tian Qian•Journal of Health Psychology•2016

  • Family Structure and Child Well-Being

    Open Access•L Brown, Susan L Brown•Journal of Marriage and the Family•2004

Unique citing works10
Citations per year2,5
Citation span2022 - 2026 (5)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 10
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae