Is negative coping necessarily "bad"? State anxiety and college student adjustment: a Moderated Moderation Model

Is negative coping necessarily "bad"? 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State anxiety and college student adjustment: a Moderated Moderation Model Ji Yang, Minglu Zheng, Tianmu Liu, Xuejun Xie, Feng Zhen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968494/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Introduction: The transition to university life presents significant developmental challenges, and state anxiety is increasingly recognized as a key factor undermining college student adjustment. However, the psychological mechanisms through which anxiety relates to adjustment remain insufficiently understood. Drawing upon evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, this study investigates how coping styles moderate the anxiety-adjustment relationship and whether perceived social support further conditions these moderating effects. Methods: A total of 1105 college students were surveyed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support Scale, and Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale. Results: State anxiety was negatively associated with college adjustment. Both positive coping and negative coping significantly moderated this relationship. Perceived social support further moderated the moderating effect of coping styles. For negative coping, the buffering effect of perceived social support was particularly pronounced: among students with high negative coping, those with high perceived social support showed the weakest negative association between anxiety and adjustment. For positive coping, the combination of high positive coping and low perceived social support yielded the most protective effect, with the weakest negative association between state anxiety and college student adjustment observed in this group. These findings provide empirical evidence for the development of targeted psychological intervention programs for college students with different coping styles. Conclusion: These findings advance understanding of anxiety-adjustment dynamics by demonstrating that coping effectiveness is context-dependent and jointly shaped by internal regulatory resources and external social resources. The results challenge simplistic coping categorizations and support a resource-regulation framework wherein adaptation emerges from dynamic interactions among emotional states, individual coping patterns, and social contexts. state anxiety college student adjustment coping styles perceived social support moderated moderation effect Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 1 Introduction Adjustment to university life represents a critical developmental task for emerging adults, requiring students to effectively integrate emotional, cognitive, and behavioral resources in response to novel academic, social, and personal demands (Hobfoll, 2002 ). Successful adjustment has been consistently linked to academic performance, psychological well-being, and long-term career development (Ball et al., 2025 ; Credé and Niehorster, 2011 ). However, contemporary college students are increasingly exposed to multiple stressors arising from academic competition, social transitions, and rapid societal changes, which pose substantial challenges to their adaptive functioning (Gravini Donado et al., 2021 ). Understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying college student adjustment therefore remains an important research priority. Anxiety constitutes one of the most prevalent emotional responses during the university transition period. From an evolutionary perspective, the smoke detector principle conceptualizes anxiety as an adaptive warning system that alerts individuals to potential environmental threats and motivates preparatory responses (Nesse, 2005 ). Within this framework, state anxiety refers to a transient emotional state characterized by tension, apprehension, and heightened physiological arousal in response to situational demands (Leal et al., 2017 ). Unlike trait anxiety, which reflects relatively stable individual differences, state anxiety is context-sensitive and dynamically fluctuates across situations, making it particularly relevant for understanding short-term adaptive processes (Saviola et al., 2020 ). Empirical evidence indicates that elevated levels of state anxiety are consistently associated with poorer academic, social, and emotional adjustment among college students (Li et al., 2022 ; Worley et al., 2023 ). Despite substantial evidence linking state anxiety to maladjustment, the psychological mechanisms through which anxiety relates to college student adjustment remain insufficiently understood. Contemporary stress and coping theories emphasize that the impact of anxiety on adaptive outcomes depends not only on emotional intensity but also on individuals’ regulatory resources and coping responses (Folkman and Moskowitz, 2004 ; Taylor and Stanton, 2007 ). From a resource-based perspective, anxiety consumes attentional and emotional regulation capacities, thereby constraining individuals’ ability to flexibly respond to environmental demands (Barthel et al., 2021; Fan et al., 2024 ). Consequently, coping strategies may play a crucial role in shaping how anxiety is translated into adaptive or maladaptive outcomes. Coping styles refer to relatively stable patterns of cognitive and behavioral efforts that individuals employ to manage stress (Taylor and Stanton, 2007 ). Prior research commonly distinguishes between positive coping strategies, such as problem-solving and cognitive reappraisal, and negative coping strategies, including avoidance, denial, and emotional suppression (Folkman and Moskowitz, 2004 ). Positive coping is generally associated with enhanced self-efficacy, greater perceived control, and better psychological adjustment, particularly under moderate stress conditions (Gloria and Steinhardt, 2016 ; Fitzgibbon and Murphy, 2022 ). In contrast, negative coping has traditionally been linked to heightened psychological distress and maladaptive outcomes (Budimir et al., 2021 ; Polatci et al., 2023 ). However, accumulating evidence suggests that the adaptiveness of coping strategies is highly context-dependent. According to the transactional model of stress and coping, coping effectiveness depends on the fit between situational demands and available personal resources (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985 ). Under conditions characterized by low controllability or high uncertainty, emotion-focused and disengagement-oriented strategies may temporarily alleviate psychological burden and prevent resource exhaustion (Wadsworth, 2015 ; Waugh et al., 2021 ). Similarly, studies in health and disaster contexts indicate that avoidance and distraction may serve short-term regulatory functions when stressors are persistent and uncontrollable (Raccanello et al., 2023 ; Waugh et al., 2020 ). These findings challenge simplistic categorizations of coping as inherently adaptive or maladaptive and underscore the importance of examining moderating contextual factors. One important contextual resource is perceived social support. The multidimensional interaction model of stress, anxiety, and coping conceptualizes social support as a key external resource that expands individuals’ coping capacity and buffers stress-related depletion (Endler, 1997 ). Perceived social support refers to individuals’ subjective evaluations of the availability and adequacy of support from their social networks (Zimet et al., 1988 ). Compared with objectively received support, perceived support shows stronger and more consistent associations with psychological well-being and adjustment outcomes (Haber et al., 2007 ; Del-Pino-Casado et al., 2018 ). Extensive research has demonstrated that higher perceived social support is associated with reduced stress, enhanced emotional regulation, and improved academic and social functioning among college students (Yoo, 2019 ; Dong et al., 2024 ). Nevertheless, social support does not uniformly benefit all individuals. For some students, high levels of perceived support may be interpreted as signals of personal inadequacy or dependency, thereby undermining self-efficacy and autonomy (Choenarom et al., 2005 ; Gray et al., 2019 ). Moreover, individuals with strong internal coping resources may rely less on external support, whereas those experiencing resource depletion may benefit more substantially from supportive environments (Moreno-Montero et al., 2024 ). These findings suggest that the effectiveness of social support may depend on its interaction with individual coping patterns and emotional states. Integrating evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, the present study proposes a resource-regulation framework. This framework posits that state anxiety functions as a dual-signal mechanism: it serves as an alert to potential environmental threats while concurrently consuming individuals’ limited cognitive and emotional regulatory resources. In response to this resource depletion, coping styles and perceived social support operate as complementary regulatory mechanisms: coping styles represent internal strategies for managing resource allocation (e.g., engagement vs. disengagement), whereas perceived social support constitutes an external reservoir that can replenish depleted resources and expand regulatory capacity. Thus, the impact of anxiety on adjustment is not direct but is jointly shaped by the dynamic interaction between these internal and external regulatory processes. Consequently, we hypothesize that: (a) coping styles moderate the anxiety-adjustment relationship, and (b) perceived social support further moderates (i.e., conditions) the strength of these coping-based moderating effects. Based on this integrative framework, the present study examines a moderated moderation model among Chinese college students. Specifically, we propose the following hypotheses: H1: State anxiety is negatively associated with college student adjustment. H2: Coping styles (positive and negative coping) moderate the association between state anxiety and adjustment. H3: Perceived social support further moderates the moderating effects of coping styles (both positive and negative) on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment. By clarifying how internal coping resources and external social resources jointly shape the anxiety-adjustment relationship, this study aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of adaptive processes in university contexts and to inform the development of resource-sensitive psychological interventions. 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 Participants Using a convenience sampling method 1186 questionnaires were distributed, and 1105 valid questionnaires were collected, resulting in an effective response rate of 93.17%. The average age of participants was 21.34 ± 2.91 years. Among them 479 were male (43.35%), 626 were female (56.65%); 936 were undergraduates (84.71%), 169 were postgraduate students or above (15.29%); 449 were only children (40.63%), 656 were non-only children (59.37%); 529 were from urban areas (47.87%), and 576 were from rural areas (52.13%). 2.2 Measures 2.2.1 State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was developed by Spielberger et al. (1983), consisting of 40 items and two subscales: the State Anxiety Inventory (S-AI) and the Trait Anxiety Inventory (T-AI). This study utilized the state anxiety subscale, which contains 20 items. The scale is scored using a 4-point Likert scale (1 = not at all, 4 = very much so), with higher scores indicating a more pronounced state of anxiety at the present time. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s α) used in this study was 0.90. 2.2.2 Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) The Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, compiled by Xie ( 1998 ), was used. It consists of 20 items, containing two dimensions: positive coping and negative coping. A 4-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating more frequent use of that coping style. In this study, the Cronbach’s α coefficients were 0.84 for the total scale. 2.2.3 Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) The Perceived Social Support Scale, developed by Zimet et al. ( 1988 ), was used. It consists of 12 items, containing three dimensions: family support, friend support, and other support. A 7-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived social support. In this study, the Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.92. 2.2.4 Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS) The Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale, compiled by Fang et al. ( 2005 ), was used. It consists of 60 items, containing seven dimensions: interpersonal relationship adjustment, learning adjustment, campus life adjustment, career adjustment, emotional adjustment, self-adjustment, and satisfaction. A 5-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating better environmental adjustment ability. In this study, the Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.92. 2.3 Data analysis All statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27.0). Moderation and Second-Stage moderation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro (Version 5.0) developed by Hayes. Specifically, Model 1 was used to test the moderating effects of positive and negative coping styles on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment. Model 3 was applied to examine the three-way interaction among state anxiety, coping styles, and perceived social support. Prior to the regression analyses, all continuous variables were mean-centered to reduce multicollinearity and facilitate the interpretation of interaction effects. Demographic variables, including gender, age, academic level, and place of residence, were entered as covariates to control for their potential confounding effects. Bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was employed to estimate confidence intervals for interaction effects. Effects were considered statistically significant when the 95% bias-corrected confidence interval did not include zero. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. Simple slope analyses and conditional effect analyses were conducted to further interpret significant interaction effects at high and low levels (± 1 SD ) of the moderator variables. 3 Results 3.1 Preliminary Analyses Harman’s single-factor test was used to assess common method bias. An unrotated exploratory factor analysis was conducted on all items of the four research variables. The results showed that 17 factors had eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first factor explained 21.82% of the variance, which is below the critical threshold of 40%. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was no significant common method bias in this study. To examine potential multicollinearity among the predictors, variance inflation factors (VIFs) were calculated for all variables included in the regression models. VIF values were obtained using ordinary least squares regression analyses in SPSS. The results indicated that all VIF values ranged from 1.27 to 1.79, which were well below the commonly accepted threshold of 5.0. These findings suggest that multicollinearity was not a serious concern in the present study. 3.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted for state anxiety, coping styles, perceived social support, and adjustment. The results revealed significant correlations among all four variables, as detailed in Table 1 . Table 1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Among Variables Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 1.State Anxiety 2.19 0.51 1 2.Positive Coping 1.91 0.49 –0.37** 1 3.Negative Coping 1.45 0.56 0.19** 0.31** 1 4.Perceived social Support 5.16 0.96 –0.39** 0.58** 0.15** 1 5.College Student Adjustment 3.32 0.45 –0.61** 0.57** –0.13** 0.59** 1 Note: ** p < .01. 3.3 Model Testing 3.3.1 Testing the Moderating Effects Model 1 in the SPSS PROCESS macro (version 27.0) was used to test the moderating effects of coping styles on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment. After controlling for demographic variables, the results showed that the interaction terms between state anxiety and both positive coping ( β = 0.08, p < 0.05, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.15]) and negative coping ( β = 0.26, p < 0.001, 95% CI = [0.19, 0.33]) significantly predicted adjustment. 3.3.2 Testing the Three-Way Interaction Moderating Effects Further analysis using Model 3 in the PROCESS macro tested the three-way interaction effect among state anxiety, positive coping, and perceived social support. The results indicated that the three-way interaction term significantly predicted adjustment ( β = − 0.07, p < 0.05, 95% CI = [–0.13, − 0.01]), as detailed in Table 2 . Table 2 Regression Results for Three-Way Interaction Moderating Effects Variable Main Effect Model Moderation model Second-stage moderation model β t β t β t Positive Coping State Anxiety –0.54 –25.76*** –0.42 –20.47*** –0.34 –15.50*** Positive Coping 0.34 15.69*** 0.21 9.08*** State Anxiety * Positive Coping 0.08 2.18* 0.11 2.46* Perceived social Support 0.13 9.78*** State Anxiety * Perceived Social Support –0.08 –3.60*** Positive Coping * Perceived Social Support –0.03 –1.55 State Anxiety * Positive Coping * Perceived Social Support –0.07 –2.26* R 2 0.40 0.52 0.57 ΔR 2 0.12 0.05 Negative Coping State Anxiety –0.54 –25.76*** –0.52 –24.76*** –0.37 –17.90*** Negative Coping –0.03 –1.68 –0.08 –4.15*** State Anxiety * Negative Coping 0.26 7.33*** 0.15 4.38*** Perceived social Support 0.19 16.71*** State Anxiety * Perceived Social Support –0.00 –0.25 Negative Coping * Perceived Social Support –0.04 –2.04* State Anxiety * Negative Coping * Perceived Social Support 0.07 2.25* R 2 0.40 0.43 0.56 ΔR 2 0.03 0.13 Note: * p < .05, *** p < .001. Based on positive coping and perceived social support scores split by ± 1 standard deviation into high/low groups (resulting in four groups: High Positive Coping/High Support, High Positive Coping/Low Support, Low Positive Coping/High Support, Low Positive Coping/Low Support), a three-way interaction effect graph was plotted. The results showed that in the High Positive Coping/Low Perceived Social Support group, the negative effect of anxiety on adjustment was significantly weaker than in other groups (see Fig. 1 and Table 3 ). Table 3 Conditional Effect Analysis Condition Effect t 95%LLCI 95%ULCI Low Positive Coping Low Social Support –0.35 –10.86*** –0.42 –0.29 High Social Support –0.44 –9.30*** –0.53 –0.35 High Positive Coping Low Social Support –0.18 –3.60*** –0.28 –0.08 High Social Support –0.40 –14.60*** –0.45 –0.35 Low Negative Coping Low Social Support –0.41 –10.80*** –0.49 –0.34 High Social Support –0.50 –14.75*** –0.56 –0.43 High Negative Coping Low Social Support –0.32 –7.43*** –0.40 –0.23 High Social Support –0.25 –7.41*** –0.31 –0.18 Note: *** p < .001. Finally, the three-way interaction effect among state anxiety, negative coping, and perceived social support was tested. The results indicated that the three-way interaction term significantly predicted adjustment ( β = 0.07, p < 0.05, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.13]). Simple slope analysis revealed that for students with high negative coping, those with high perceived social support exhibited a non-significant or weaker negative association between anxiety and adjustment compared to those with low social support. Specifically, the High Negative Coping/High Perceived Social Support group exhibited the smallest negative slope (closest to zero), meaning that under these conditions, the detrimental impact of state anxiety on college student adjustment was minimized (see Fig. 2 and Table 3 ). 4 Discussion The present study investigated the interactive roles of state anxiety, coping styles, and perceived social support in college student adjustment within a resource-regulation framework. By integrating evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, this research aimed to clarify how anxiety-related resource depletion and regulatory mechanisms jointly shape adaptive functioning. Overall, the findings support the proposed moderated moderation model and demonstrate that the effectiveness of coping strategies depends on both emotional states and social contexts. 4.1 State Anxiety and Resource Depletion in Adjustment The current study substantiates the hypothesis that state anxiety is negatively associated with college student adjustment. This result aligns with prior research indicating that heightened anxiety is linked to poorer academic, social, and emotional functioning (Li et al., 2022 ; Worley et al., 2023 ). From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety functions as an early warning signal that promotes vigilance toward potential threats (Nesse, 2005 ). However, excessive or prolonged activation of this system may impair adaptive performance. From a cognitive-resource perspective, the repetitive worry triggered by state anxiety occupies working memory capacity, consuming limited cognitive resources. This leads to attentional fixation on threatening stimuli (e.g., risks of academic failure), reducing cognitive resources available for adapting to new environments, thereby impairing an individual’s adaptive regulatory capacity (Barthel et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2019 ). Moreover, sustained emotional regulation efforts associated with anxiety may accelerate psychological depletion, limiting tolerance for stress and increasing vulnerability to maladjustment (Fan et al., 2024 ). Together, these mechanisms suggest that state anxiety may undermine adjustment by constraining both cognitive and emotional regulatory capacities. The present findings extend this literature by demonstrating that such detrimental associations remain robust even after controlling for individual differences and contextual factors. 4.2 Moderating Role of Coping Styles In line with the study’s hypothesis, this research found that coping styles moderated the association between state anxiety and adjustment. Specifically, positive coping attenuated the negative relationship between anxiety and adjustment. For students with higher levels of positive coping, the negative effect of state anxiety on adjustment was significantly weaker. This result is similar to existing research (Arora et al., 2021 ; Moeller et al., 2020 ). Problem-solving, cognitive reappraisal, and help-seeking behaviors may facilitate resource conservation and recovery by directing attention toward controllable aspects of stressful situations. These strategies enhance perceived efficacy and promote adaptive engagement, thereby counteracting anxiety-induced depletion (Gloria and Steinhardt, 2016 ; Fitzgibbon and Murphy, 2022 ). Interestingly, unlike much prior research (Macia et al., 2021 ; Raccanello et al., 2023 ), our studies found that negative coping also weakened the anxiety–adjustment association under certain conditions. Although avoidance-oriented strategies are typically regarded as maladaptive, the present findings suggest that they may serve short-term regulatory functions when individuals experience high emotional arousal. By temporarily disengaging from overwhelming stressors, negative coping may reduce cognitive overload and prevent further resource loss. This interpretation is consistent with research indicating that distraction and emotional disengagement can facilitate short-term emotional stabilization in uncontrollable or persistent stress contexts (Wadsworth, 2015 ; Waugh et al., 2021 ). Importantly, these results do not imply that negative coping is inherently beneficial. Rather, they highlight its potential role as a provisional regulatory strategy when individuals' internal resources are insufficient. Prolonged reliance on avoidance may hinder problem resolution and increase long-term maladjustment risks. Therefore, the adaptive value of negative coping appears to be conditional and temporally bounded. This finding directly challenges the traditional, simplistic categorization of coping strategies as uniformly "adaptive" or "maladaptive," underscoring the necessity of a more nuanced, context-dependent understanding of coping effectiveness, which is a central thesis of this study. 4.3 Conditional Effects of Perceived Social Support Consistent with the study’s hypothesis, perceived social support further moderated the moderating role of coping styles. For students who predominantly employed negative coping strategies, high perceived social support substantially weakened the negative association between state anxiety and adjustment. This pattern is consistent with the multidimensional interaction model, which conceptualizes social support as an external resource that supplements depleted internal capacities (Endler, 1997 ). When internal regulatory resources are limited, supportive social environments may facilitate emotional containment, cognitive reframing, and gradual re-engagement with stressors. Under such conditions, avoidance-oriented coping may function as a temporary recovery strategy rather than a persistent maladaptive pattern. Social support may thus transform passive disengagement into a contextually adaptive response by providing psychological safety and alternative problem-solving resources. In contrast, among individuals characterized by high levels of positive coping, perceived social support exerted relatively weaker buffering effects. Specifically, our results indicated that the combination of high positive coping and low social support yielded the strongest protection. This finding may reflect autonomy-related processes, whereby individuals with strong self-regulatory capacities rely primarily on internal resources and perceive external support as less necessary or, in some cases, as potentially undermining self-efficacy (Choenarom et al., 2005 ; Gray et al., 2019 ). Alternative explanations, such as the potential stress of misaligned or intrusive support which could itself act as a demand on self-regulatory resources, could also be considered to provide a more comprehensive interpretation. These differential patterns underscore that the benefits of social support are contingent upon individuals’ existing coping profiles and emotional states. 4.4 Theoretical Implications The present study contributes to coping and adjustment research by advancing a resource-regulation perspective on anxiety-related adaptation. Rather than conceptualizing coping strategies as uniformly adaptive or maladaptive, the findings emphasize that coping effectiveness emerges from dynamic interactions among emotional states, individual regulatory capacities, and social contexts. By demonstrating a moderated moderation structure, this research extends transactional and resource-based models of stress by highlighting the layered nature of regulatory processes. State anxiety reflects both environmental threat signals and internal resource demands, while coping styles and social support jointly shape resource allocation, conservation, and recovery. This integrative framework provides a more nuanced account of why similar coping strategies may yield divergent outcomes across individuals and situations. Furthermore, the findings contribute to the growing literature on coping flexibility by illustrating how individuals shift between internal and external regulatory resources under varying levels of emotional strain. Such flexibility may represent a critical mechanism underlying successful adaptation in complex academic environments. 4.5 Practical Implications The present findings have important implications for psychological interventions in university settings. First, mental health programs should focus on enhancing students’ awareness of their emotional states and resource limitations, enabling early identification of maladaptive anxiety patterns. Second, interventions should move beyond the exclusive promotion of positive coping and instead cultivate flexible coping repertoires that match situational demands. Training programs may incorporate modules on strategic disengagement, emotional recovery, and gradual re-engagement, particularly for students experiencing high levels of anxiety. Additionally, universities should strengthen social support systems by fostering peer networks, mentoring programs, and accessible counseling services. Enhancing students’ perceptions of available support may be especially beneficial for individuals relying on avoidance-oriented coping strategies. Third, for university counseling services, the findings advocate for a more comprehensive assessment protocol.​ Specifically, when working with students who exhibit high levels of avoidance or negative coping, practitioners should systematically evaluate not only the coping style itself but also the student’s perceived social support network. Interventions should then actively aim to bolster perceived social support for these individuals, as our results indicate that high social support can significantly mitigate the negative impact of anxiety for students using negative coping strategies. This might involve facilitating connections to supportive peer groups, enhancing mentor-mentee relationships, or teaching students how to more effectively seek and perceive support from their existing networks. By doing so, counseling services can transform a potentially maladaptive coping profile into a more resilient one by leveraging the protective power of the social environment. 4.6 Limitations and Future Directions Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the present findings. First, the cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences regarding the relationships among anxiety, coping, social support, and adjustment. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to clarify temporal dynamics and directional effects. Second, reliance on self-report measures may introduce response biases, despite statistical controls for common method variance. Future research should incorporate multi-method approaches, including behavioral and physiological indicators. Third, the sample consisted exclusively of Chinese college students, which may limit generalizability to other cultural contexts. Cultural norms regarding emotional expression, help-seeking, and social interdependence may influence coping patterns and support utilization. Cross-cultural comparative studies are therefore warranted. Future research may also explore potential mediating mechanisms, such as emotion regulation efficacy, cognitive appraisal processes, and resilience, to further elucidate how coping and social support operate within the resource-regulation system. Additionally, examining domain-specific stressors, such as academic versus interpersonal challenges, may provide more fine-grained insights into adaptive processes. 5 Conclusion In conclusion, this study demonstrates that state anxiety exerts a significant negative influence on college student adjustment, yet this relationship is moderated in nuanced ways by coping styles and perceived social support. While positive coping serves as a buffer against the detrimental effects of anxiety, contrary to traditional assumptions, our findings suggest that negative coping may, under specific conditions (e.g., when coupled with high perceived social support), be associated with attenuated maladjustment or serve a short-term regulatory function. This underscores its context-dependent nature rather than inherent adaptiveness. Importantly, perceived social support further moderates these dynamics, particularly by mitigating the negative slope between state anxiety and adjustment for individuals who employ negative coping strategies. These findings underscore the complex and context-dependent nature of the adaptation process. They emphasize the need for a more differentiated and resource-sensitive approach in supporting college students, one that goes beyond simplistic coping categorizations and leverages both internal coping flexibility and external social resources to foster psychological well-being and successful adjustment. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Education, Guangzhou University (approval number: GZHUSE2025057; approval date: September 30, 2025). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation. Consent for Publication: Not applicable. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Author Contributions Ji Yang contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study, conducted the investigation, wrote the main manuscript text, and prepared figures. Minglu Zheng contributed to the investigation, data curation, and prepared tables. Tianmu Liu performed the formal analysis, participated in the investigation, and assisted in data collection. Xuejun Xie and Feng Zhen were involved in the investigation and data collection. All authors reviewed the manuscript. Funding: This research received no external funding. Author Contribution Ji Yang contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study, conducted the investigation, wrote the main manuscript text, and prepared figures. Minglu Zheng contributed to the investigation, data curation, and prepared tables. Tianmu Liu performed the formal analysis, participated in the investigation, and assisted in data collection. Xuejun Xie and Feng Zhen were involved in the investigation and data collection. All authors reviewed the manuscript. Acknowledgement The authors thank all the college students who participated in this study. 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Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 10(2), 251-263. doi:10.7821/naer.2021.7.657 Gray, C., Spector, P., Lacey, K., Young, B., Jacobsen, S., & Taylor, M. (2019). Helping may be Harming: unintended negative consequences of providing social support. Work & Stress, 34, 359-385. doi:10.1080/02678373.2019.1695294 Haber, M. G., Cohen, J. L., Lucas, T., & Baltes, B. B. (2007). The relationship between self-reported received and perceived social support: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39(1-2), 133-144. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9100-9 Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6(4), 307-324. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.4.307 Leal, P. C., Goes, T. C., da Silva, L. C. F., & Teixeira-Silva, F. (2017). Trait vs. state anxiety in different threatening situations. Trends Psychiatry Psychother, 39(3), 147-157. doi:10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0044 Li, W., Zhao, Z., Chen, D., Peng, Y., & Lu, Z. (2022). Prevalence and associated factors of depression and anxiety symptoms among college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 63(11), 1222-1230. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13606 Liu, J., Shen, K., & Li, H. (2019). How state anxiety and attentional bias interact with each other: The moderating effect of cognitive appraisal. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81(3), 694-706. doi:10.3758/s13414-018-01650-y Macia, P., Barranco, M., Gorbena, S., Alvarez-Fuentes, E., & Iraurgi, I. (2021). Resilience and coping strategies in relation to mental health outcomes in people with cancer. PLoS One, 16(5), e0252075. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252075 Moeller, R. W., Seehuus, M., Simonds, J., Lorton, E., Randle, T. S., Richter, C., & Peisch, V. (2020). The Differential Role of Coping, Physical Activity, and Mindfulness in College Student Adjustment. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01858 Moreno-Montero, E., Ferradás, M.-D.-M., & Freire, C. (2024). Personal Resources for Psychological Well-Being in University Students: The Roles of Psychological Capital and Coping Strategies. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14, 2686-2701. doi:10.3390/ejihpe14100177 Nesse, R. M. (2005). Natural selection and the regulation of defenses: A signal detection analysis of the smoke detector principle. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26(1), 88-105. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.002 Polatci, S., Antalyali, O. L., Alparslan, A. M., & Yastioglu, S. (2023). Young people's happiness in the context of negative life events and coping strategies: a latent profile and latent class analysis. BMC Psychol, 11(1), 335. doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01343-8 Raccanello, D., Rocca, E., Barnaba, V., Vicentini, G., Hall, R., & Brondino, M. (2023). Coping Strategies and Psychological Maladjustment/Adjustment: A Meta-Analytic Approach with Children and Adolescents Exposed to Natural Disasters. Child Youth Care Forum, 52(1), 25-63. doi:10.1007/s10566-022-09677-x Saviola, F., Pappaianni, E., Monti, A., Grecucci, A., Jovicich, J., & De Pisapia, N. (2020). Trait and state anxiety are mapped differently in the human brain. Sci Rep, 10(1), 11112. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-68008-z Spielberger, C. D. (1983). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI-AD) [Database record]. APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t06496-000 Taylor, S. E., & Stanton, A. L. (2007). Coping resources, coping processes, and mental health. Annu Rev Clin Psychol, 3, 377-401. doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091520 Wadsworth, M. E. (2015). Development of Maladaptive Coping: A Functional Adaptation to Chronic, Uncontrollable Stress. Child Dev Perspect, 9(2), 96-100. doi:10.1111/cdep.12112 Waugh, C. E., Leslie-Miller, C. J., Shing, E. Z., Furr, R. M., Nightingale, C. L., & McLean, T. W. (2021). Adaptive and maladaptive forms of disengagement coping in caregivers of children with chronic illnesses. Stress Health, 37(2), 213-222. doi:10.1002/smi.2985 Waugh, C. E., Shing, E. Z., & Furr, R. M. (2020). Not all disengagement coping strategies are created equal: positive distraction, but not avoidance, can be an adaptive coping strategy for chronic life stressors. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 33(5), 511-529. Worley, J. T., Meter, D. J., Ramirez Hall, A., Nishina, A., & Medina, M. A. (2023). Prospective associations between peer support, academic competence, and anxiety in college students. Soc Psychol Educ, 1-19. doi:10.1007/s11218-023-09781-3 Xie, Y. (1998). Reliability and validity of the simplified coping style questionnaire. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 6 (02), 114–115. https://doi:10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.1998.02.018 Yoo, C. (2019). Stress coping and mental health among adolescents: applying a multi-dimensional stress coping model. Children and Youth Services Review, 99, 43-53. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.030 Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8968494","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600524357,"identity":"3a4d03af-16b6-415f-b266-c45746b21a5f","order_by":0,"name":"Ji Yang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIie3RMYvCMBTA8VcC6RJ0TRGqH+FJoRQc/CqKoEvucLxJlIPcoh/GRRwrHVwirh0Lgih0UJwKDtcgjkbdDi7/JS+QHyEEwGb7q3HkjBISgzPW285LJPIrruy8QQC+Ap8pfI3gepMcoiHvSi4ux2KZQNUVCMXSQNRnPyrfUpKPReSpBLxpjs5MGUgsQrwTbMoEMBVIHGkg2/xOxB67JWk/JakIspIElCmSrfQt/Anx0jzU/+JTV4bORA4YV/vhamYgla0ILvw6YvVvsjsXsuVXf3rzrDCQRgy0xm8z1SvTU/wYANTHQM6n20xOppM2m832f/sFjaJRYyKyi9IAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Guangzhou University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ji","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":600524369,"identity":"585d8bdc-1e9e-4585-a2be-def29a5a6cfb","order_by":1,"name":"Minglu Zheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Minglu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zheng","suffix":""},{"id":600524378,"identity":"1f5de776-a3a0-4643-9846-b5ca9f30ac2d","order_by":2,"name":"Tianmu Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yichun University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tianmu","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":600524382,"identity":"48946b05-b224-429d-9139-6d43f9aa63fd","order_by":3,"name":"Xuejun Xie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yichun University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuejun","middleName":"","lastName":"Xie","suffix":""},{"id":600524392,"identity":"05a5fad0-600c-4845-a877-8224426562a6","order_by":4,"name":"Feng Zhen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Guangzhou University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Feng","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-25 13:53:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968494/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968494/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104004193,"identity":"56d23132-1e82-468e-9060-97822411c5ad","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-05 14:40:43","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":67209,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThree-way interaction moderating effect of state anxiety, positive coping, and perceived social support.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8968494/v1/6e2e0ca482bdb5f6c82831a6.png"},{"id":104004351,"identity":"e74e73be-ed33-4031-a9f2-2e1d7a7a2d1c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-05 14:41:40","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":68038,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThree-way interaction moderating effect of state anxiety, negative coping, and perceived social support.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8968494/v1/bb16e34fe359f7dcb9e34abb.png"},{"id":104004450,"identity":"2084d4c1-1207-4ed2-a0b9-aaa43ea44794","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-05 14:42:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1107309,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8968494/v1/2c4f9a94-d040-4108-a1a1-731afcdc3d9e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Is negative coping necessarily \"bad\"? State anxiety and college student adjustment: a Moderated Moderation Model","fulltext":[{"header":"1 Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAdjustment to university life represents a critical developmental task for emerging adults, requiring students to effectively integrate emotional, cognitive, and behavioral resources in response to novel academic, social, and personal demands (Hobfoll, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). Successful adjustment has been consistently linked to academic performance, psychological well-being, and long-term career development (Ball et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Cred\u0026eacute; and Niehorster, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). However, contemporary college students are increasingly exposed to multiple stressors arising from academic competition, social transitions, and rapid societal changes, which pose substantial challenges to their adaptive functioning (Gravini Donado et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying college student adjustment therefore remains an important research priority.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety constitutes one of the most prevalent emotional responses during the university transition period. From an evolutionary perspective, the smoke detector principle conceptualizes anxiety as an adaptive warning system that alerts individuals to potential environmental threats and motivates preparatory responses (Nesse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). Within this framework, state anxiety refers to a transient emotional state characterized by tension, apprehension, and heightened physiological arousal in response to situational demands (Leal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Unlike trait anxiety, which reflects relatively stable individual differences, state anxiety is context-sensitive and dynamically fluctuates across situations, making it particularly relevant for understanding short-term adaptive processes (Saviola et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Empirical evidence indicates that elevated levels of state anxiety are consistently associated with poorer academic, social, and emotional adjustment among college students (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Worley et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite substantial evidence linking state anxiety to maladjustment, the psychological mechanisms through which anxiety relates to college student adjustment remain insufficiently understood. Contemporary stress and coping theories emphasize that the impact of anxiety on adaptive outcomes depends not only on emotional intensity but also on individuals\u0026rsquo; regulatory resources and coping responses (Folkman and Moskowitz, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Taylor and Stanton, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). From a resource-based perspective, anxiety consumes attentional and emotional regulation capacities, thereby constraining individuals\u0026rsquo; ability to flexibly respond to environmental demands (Barthel et al., 2021; Fan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, coping strategies may play a crucial role in shaping how anxiety is translated into adaptive or maladaptive outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoping styles refer to relatively stable patterns of cognitive and behavioral efforts that individuals employ to manage stress (Taylor and Stanton, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Prior research commonly distinguishes between positive coping strategies, such as problem-solving and cognitive reappraisal, and negative coping strategies, including avoidance, denial, and emotional suppression (Folkman and Moskowitz, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e). Positive coping is generally associated with enhanced self-efficacy, greater perceived control, and better psychological adjustment, particularly under moderate stress conditions (Gloria and Steinhardt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Fitzgibbon and Murphy, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In contrast, negative coping has traditionally been linked to heightened psychological distress and maladaptive outcomes (Budimir et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Polatci et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, accumulating evidence suggests that the adaptiveness of coping strategies is highly context-dependent. According to the transactional model of stress and coping, coping effectiveness depends on the fit between situational demands and available personal resources (Folkman and Lazarus, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). Under conditions characterized by low controllability or high uncertainty, emotion-focused and disengagement-oriented strategies may temporarily alleviate psychological burden and prevent resource exhaustion (Wadsworth, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Waugh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, studies in health and disaster contexts indicate that avoidance and distraction may serve short-term regulatory functions when stressors are persistent and uncontrollable (Raccanello et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Waugh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). These findings challenge simplistic categorizations of coping as inherently adaptive or maladaptive and underscore the importance of examining moderating contextual factors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne important contextual resource is perceived social support. The multidimensional interaction model of stress, anxiety, and coping conceptualizes social support as a key external resource that expands individuals\u0026rsquo; coping capacity and buffers stress-related depletion (Endler, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e). Perceived social support refers to individuals\u0026rsquo; subjective evaluations of the availability and adequacy of support from their social networks (Zimet et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1988\u003c/span\u003e). Compared with objectively received support, perceived support shows stronger and more consistent associations with psychological well-being and adjustment outcomes (Haber et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Del-Pino-Casado et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Extensive research has demonstrated that higher perceived social support is associated with reduced stress, enhanced emotional regulation, and improved academic and social functioning among college students (Yoo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Dong et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNevertheless, social support does not uniformly benefit all individuals. For some students, high levels of perceived support may be interpreted as signals of personal inadequacy or dependency, thereby undermining self-efficacy and autonomy (Choenarom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Gray et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, individuals with strong internal coping resources may rely less on external support, whereas those experiencing resource depletion may benefit more substantially from supportive environments (Moreno-Montero et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). These findings suggest that the effectiveness of social support may depend on its interaction with individual coping patterns and emotional states.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntegrating evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, the present study proposes a resource-regulation framework. This framework posits that state anxiety functions as a dual-signal mechanism: it serves as an alert to potential environmental threats while concurrently consuming individuals\u0026rsquo; limited cognitive and emotional regulatory resources. In response to this resource depletion, coping styles and perceived social support operate as complementary regulatory mechanisms: coping styles represent internal strategies for managing resource allocation (e.g., engagement vs. disengagement), whereas perceived social support constitutes an external reservoir that can replenish depleted resources and expand regulatory capacity. Thus, the impact of anxiety on adjustment is not direct but is jointly shaped by the dynamic interaction between these internal and external regulatory processes. Consequently, we hypothesize that: (a) coping styles moderate the anxiety-adjustment relationship, and (b) perceived social support further moderates (i.e., conditions) the strength of these coping-based moderating effects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on this integrative framework, the present study examines a moderated moderation model among Chinese college students. Specifically, we propose the following hypotheses:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH1: State anxiety is negatively associated with college student adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH2: Coping styles (positive and negative coping) moderate the association between state anxiety and adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH3: Perceived social support further moderates the moderating effects of coping styles (both positive and negative) on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy clarifying how internal coping resources and external social resources jointly shape the anxiety-adjustment relationship, this study aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of adaptive processes in university contexts and to inform the development of resource-sensitive psychological interventions.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2 Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Participants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing a convenience sampling method 1186 questionnaires were distributed, and 1105 valid questionnaires were collected, resulting in an effective response rate of 93.17%. The average age of participants was 21.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.91 years. Among them 479 were male (43.35%), 626 were female (56.65%); 936 were undergraduates (84.71%), 169 were postgraduate students or above (15.29%); 449 were only children (40.63%), 656 were non-only children (59.37%); 529 were from urban areas (47.87%), and 576 were from rural areas (52.13%).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.1 State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was developed by Spielberger et al. (1983), consisting of 40 items and two subscales: the State Anxiety Inventory (S-AI) and the Trait Anxiety Inventory (T-AI). This study utilized the state anxiety subscale, which contains 20 items. The scale is scored using a 4-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;not at all, 4\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;very much so), with higher scores indicating a more pronounced state of anxiety at the present time. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α) used in this study was 0.90.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.2 Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, compiled by Xie (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e), was used. It consists of 20 items, containing two dimensions: positive coping and negative coping. A 4-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating more frequent use of that coping style. In this study, the Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficients were 0.84 for the total scale.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.3 Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Perceived Social Support Scale, developed by Zimet et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1988\u003c/span\u003e), was used. It consists of 12 items, containing three dimensions: family support, friend support, and other support. A 7-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived social support. In this study, the Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.92.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.4 Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale, compiled by Fang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e), was used. It consists of 60 items, containing seven dimensions: interpersonal relationship adjustment, learning adjustment, campus life adjustment, career adjustment, emotional adjustment, self-adjustment, and satisfaction. A 5-point Likert scale was employed, with higher scores indicating better environmental adjustment ability. In this study, the Cronbach's α for this scale was 0.92.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Data analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27.0). Moderation and Second-Stage moderation analyses were performed using the PROCESS macro (Version 5.0) developed by Hayes. Specifically, Model 1 was used to test the moderating effects of positive and negative coping styles on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment. Model 3 was applied to examine the three-way interaction among state anxiety, coping styles, and perceived social support.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrior to the regression analyses, all continuous variables were mean-centered to reduce multicollinearity and facilitate the interpretation of interaction effects. Demographic variables, including gender, age, academic level, and place of residence, were entered as covariates to control for their potential confounding effects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was employed to estimate confidence intervals for interaction effects. Effects were considered statistically significant when the 95% bias-corrected confidence interval did not include zero. The significance level was set at \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05. Simple slope analyses and conditional effect analyses were conducted to further interpret significant interaction effects at high and low levels (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1 \u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e) of the moderator variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Preliminary Analyses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eHarman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test was used to assess common method bias. An unrotated exploratory factor analysis was conducted on all items of the four research variables. The results showed that 17 factors had eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first factor explained 21.82% of the variance, which is below the critical threshold of 40%. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was no significant common method bias in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo examine potential multicollinearity among the predictors, variance inflation factors (VIFs) were calculated for all variables included in the regression models. VIF values were obtained using ordinary least squares regression analyses in SPSS. The results indicated that all VIF values ranged from 1.27 to 1.79, which were well below the commonly accepted threshold of 5.0. These findings suggest that multicollinearity was not a serious concern in the present study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted for state anxiety, coping styles, perceived social support, and adjustment. The results revealed significant correlations among all four variables, as detailed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Correlations Among Variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.State Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.Positive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.37**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.Negative Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.19**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.31**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.Perceived social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.39**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.58**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.15**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.College Student Adjustment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.61**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.57**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.13**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.59**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003eNote: **\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Model Testing\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.1 Testing the Moderating Effects\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel 1 in the SPSS PROCESS macro (version 27.0) was used to test the moderating effects of coping styles on the relationship between state anxiety and adjustment. After controlling for demographic variables, the results showed that the interaction terms between state anxiety and both positive coping (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.08, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, 95% \u003cem\u003eCI\u003c/em\u003e = [0.01, 0.15]) and negative coping (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.26, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, 95% \u003cem\u003eCI\u003c/em\u003e = [0.19, 0.33]) significantly predicted adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3.2 Testing the Three-Way Interaction Moderating Effects\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther analysis using Model 3 in the PROCESS macro tested the three-way interaction effect among state anxiety, positive coping, and perceived social support. The results indicated that the three-way interaction term significantly predicted adjustment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.07, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, 95% \u003cem\u003eCI\u003c/em\u003e = [\u0026ndash;0.13, \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.01]), as detailed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegression Results for Three-Way Interaction Moderating Effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMain Effect Model\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModeration model\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond-stage moderation model\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;25.76***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;20.47***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;15.50***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.69***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.08***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Positive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.18*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.46*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.78***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;3.60***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePositive Coping * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Positive Coping * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;2.26*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΔR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNegative Coping\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;25.76***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;24.76***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;17.90***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;4.15***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Negative Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.33***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.38***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.71***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNegative Coping * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;2.04*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eState Anxiety * Negative Coping * Perceived Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.25*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΔR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eNote: *\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .05, ***\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on positive coping and perceived social support scores split by \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1 standard deviation into high/low groups (resulting in four groups: High Positive Coping/High Support, High Positive Coping/Low Support, Low Positive Coping/High Support, Low Positive Coping/Low Support), a three-way interaction effect graph was plotted. The results showed that in the High Positive Coping/Low Perceived Social Support group, the negative effect of anxiety on adjustment was significantly weaker than in other groups (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConditional Effect Analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCondition\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%LLCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%ULCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Positive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;10.86***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;9.30***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Positive Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;3.60***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;14.60***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Negative Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;10.80***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;14.75***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Negative Coping\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;7.43***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;7.41***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eNote: ***\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the three-way interaction effect among state anxiety, negative coping, and perceived social support was tested. The results indicated that the three-way interaction term significantly predicted adjustment (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.07, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, 95% \u003cem\u003eCI\u003c/em\u003e = [0.01, 0.13]). Simple slope analysis revealed that for students with high negative coping, those with high perceived social support exhibited a non-significant or weaker negative association between anxiety and adjustment compared to those with low social support. Specifically, the High Negative Coping/High Perceived Social Support group exhibited the smallest negative slope (closest to zero), meaning that under these conditions, the detrimental impact of state anxiety on college student adjustment was minimized (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present study investigated the interactive roles of state anxiety, coping styles, and perceived social support in college student adjustment within a resource-regulation framework. By integrating evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, this research aimed to clarify how anxiety-related resource depletion and regulatory mechanisms jointly shape adaptive functioning. Overall, the findings support the proposed moderated moderation model and demonstrate that the effectiveness of coping strategies depends on both emotional states and social contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 State Anxiety and Resource Depletion in Adjustment\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe current study substantiates the hypothesis that state anxiety is negatively associated with college student adjustment. This result aligns with prior research indicating that heightened anxiety is linked to poorer academic, social, and emotional functioning (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Worley et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety functions as an early warning signal that promotes vigilance toward potential threats (Nesse, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). However, excessive or prolonged activation of this system may impair adaptive performance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a cognitive-resource perspective, the repetitive worry triggered by state anxiety occupies working memory capacity, consuming limited cognitive resources. This leads to attentional fixation on threatening stimuli (e.g., risks of academic failure), reducing cognitive resources available for adapting to new environments, thereby impairing an individual\u0026rsquo;s adaptive regulatory capacity (Barthel et al., 2021; Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, sustained emotional regulation efforts associated with anxiety may accelerate psychological depletion, limiting tolerance for stress and increasing vulnerability to maladjustment (Fan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Together, these mechanisms suggest that state anxiety may undermine adjustment by constraining both cognitive and emotional regulatory capacities. The present findings extend this literature by demonstrating that such detrimental associations remain robust even after controlling for individual differences and contextual factors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Moderating Role of Coping Styles\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn line with the study\u0026rsquo;s hypothesis, this research found that coping styles moderated the association between state anxiety and adjustment. Specifically, positive coping attenuated the negative relationship between anxiety and adjustment. For students with higher levels of positive coping, the negative effect of state anxiety on adjustment was significantly weaker. This result is similar to existing research (Arora et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Moeller et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Problem-solving, cognitive reappraisal, and help-seeking behaviors may facilitate resource conservation and recovery by directing attention toward controllable aspects of stressful situations. These strategies enhance perceived efficacy and promote adaptive engagement, thereby counteracting anxiety-induced depletion (Gloria and Steinhardt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Fitzgibbon and Murphy, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterestingly, unlike much prior research (Macia et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Raccanello et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), our studies found that negative coping also weakened the anxiety\u0026ndash;adjustment association under certain conditions. Although avoidance-oriented strategies are typically regarded as maladaptive, the present findings suggest that they may serve short-term regulatory functions when individuals experience high emotional arousal. By temporarily disengaging from overwhelming stressors, negative coping may reduce cognitive overload and prevent further resource loss. This interpretation is consistent with research indicating that distraction and emotional disengagement can facilitate short-term emotional stabilization in uncontrollable or persistent stress contexts (Wadsworth, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Waugh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eImportantly, these results do not imply that negative coping is inherently beneficial. Rather, they highlight its potential role as a provisional regulatory strategy when individuals' internal resources are insufficient. Prolonged reliance on avoidance may hinder problem resolution and increase long-term maladjustment risks. Therefore, the adaptive value of negative coping appears to be conditional and temporally bounded. This finding directly challenges the traditional, simplistic categorization of coping strategies as uniformly \"adaptive\" or \"maladaptive,\" underscoring the necessity of a more nuanced, context-dependent understanding of coping effectiveness, which is a central thesis of this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Conditional Effects of Perceived Social Support\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with the study\u0026rsquo;s hypothesis, perceived social support further moderated the moderating role of coping styles. For students who predominantly employed negative coping strategies, high perceived social support substantially weakened the negative association between state anxiety and adjustment. This pattern is consistent with the multidimensional interaction model, which conceptualizes social support as an external resource that supplements depleted internal capacities (Endler, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen internal regulatory resources are limited, supportive social environments may facilitate emotional containment, cognitive reframing, and gradual re-engagement with stressors. Under such conditions, avoidance-oriented coping may function as a temporary recovery strategy rather than a persistent maladaptive pattern. Social support may thus transform passive disengagement into a contextually adaptive response by providing psychological safety and alternative problem-solving resources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, among individuals characterized by high levels of positive coping, perceived social support exerted relatively weaker buffering effects. Specifically, our results indicated that the combination of high positive coping and low social support yielded the strongest protection. This finding may reflect autonomy-related processes, whereby individuals with strong self-regulatory capacities rely primarily on internal resources and perceive external support as less necessary or, in some cases, as potentially undermining self-efficacy (Choenarom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Gray et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Alternative explanations, such as the potential stress of misaligned or intrusive support which could itself act as a demand on self-regulatory resources, could also be considered to provide a more comprehensive interpretation. These differential patterns underscore that the benefits of social support are contingent upon individuals\u0026rsquo; existing coping profiles and emotional states.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.4 Theoretical Implications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe present study contributes to coping and adjustment research by advancing a resource-regulation perspective on anxiety-related adaptation. Rather than conceptualizing coping strategies as uniformly adaptive or maladaptive, the findings emphasize that coping effectiveness emerges from dynamic interactions among emotional states, individual regulatory capacities, and social contexts. By demonstrating a moderated moderation structure, this research extends transactional and resource-based models of stress by highlighting the layered nature of regulatory processes. State anxiety reflects both environmental threat signals and internal resource demands, while coping styles and social support jointly shape resource allocation, conservation, and recovery. This integrative framework provides a more nuanced account of why similar coping strategies may yield divergent outcomes across individuals and situations. Furthermore, the findings contribute to the growing literature on coping flexibility by illustrating how individuals shift between internal and external regulatory resources under varying levels of emotional strain. Such flexibility may represent a critical mechanism underlying successful adaptation in complex academic environments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.5 Practical Implications\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe present findings have important implications for psychological interventions in university settings. First, mental health programs should focus on enhancing students\u0026rsquo; awareness of their emotional states and resource limitations, enabling early identification of maladaptive anxiety patterns. Second, interventions should move beyond the exclusive promotion of positive coping and instead cultivate flexible coping repertoires that match situational demands. Training programs may incorporate modules on strategic disengagement, emotional recovery, and gradual re-engagement, particularly for students experiencing high levels of anxiety. Additionally, universities should strengthen social support systems by fostering peer networks, mentoring programs, and accessible counseling services. Enhancing students\u0026rsquo; perceptions of available support may be especially beneficial for individuals relying on avoidance-oriented coping strategies. Third, for university counseling services, the findings advocate for a more comprehensive assessment protocol.​ Specifically, when working with students who exhibit high levels of avoidance or negative coping, practitioners should systematically evaluate not only the coping style itself but also the student\u0026rsquo;s perceived social support network. Interventions should then actively aim to bolster perceived social support for these individuals, as our results indicate that high social support can significantly mitigate the negative impact of anxiety for students using negative coping strategies. This might involve facilitating connections to supportive peer groups, enhancing mentor-mentee relationships, or teaching students how to more effectively seek and perceive support from their existing networks. By doing so, counseling services can transform a potentially maladaptive coping profile into a more resilient one by leveraging the protective power of the social environment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.6 Limitations and Future Directions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeveral limitations should be considered when interpreting the present findings. First, the cross-sectional design precludes causal inferences regarding the relationships among anxiety, coping, social support, and adjustment. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to clarify temporal dynamics and directional effects. Second, reliance on self-report measures may introduce response biases, despite statistical controls for common method variance. Future research should incorporate multi-method approaches, including behavioral and physiological indicators. Third, the sample consisted exclusively of Chinese college students, which may limit generalizability to other cultural contexts. Cultural norms regarding emotional expression, help-seeking, and social interdependence may influence coping patterns and support utilization. Cross-cultural comparative studies are therefore warranted. Future research may also explore potential mediating mechanisms, such as emotion regulation efficacy, cognitive appraisal processes, and resilience, to further elucidate how coping and social support operate within the resource-regulation system. Additionally, examining domain-specific stressors, such as academic versus interpersonal challenges, may provide more fine-grained insights into adaptive processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5 Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, this study demonstrates that state anxiety exerts a significant negative influence on college student adjustment, yet this relationship is moderated in nuanced ways by coping styles and perceived social support. While positive coping serves as a buffer against the detrimental effects of anxiety, contrary to traditional assumptions, our findings suggest that negative coping may, under specific conditions (e.g., when coupled with high perceived social support), be associated with attenuated maladjustment or serve a short-term regulatory function. This underscores its context-dependent nature rather than inherent adaptiveness. Importantly, perceived social support further moderates these dynamics, particularly by mitigating the negative slope between state anxiety and adjustment for individuals who employ negative coping strategies. These findings underscore the complex and context-dependent nature of the adaptation process. They emphasize the need for a more differentiated and resource-sensitive approach in supporting college students, one that goes beyond simplistic coping categorizations and leverages both internal coping flexibility and external social resources to foster psychological well-being and successful adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Education, Guangzhou University (approval number: GZHUSE2025057; approval date: September 30, 2025). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for Publication:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting Interests:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJi Yang contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study, conducted the investigation, wrote the main manuscript text, and prepared figures. Minglu Zheng contributed to the investigation, data curation, and prepared tables. Tianmu Liu performed the formal analysis, participated in the investigation, and assisted in data collection. Xuejun Xie and Feng Zhen were involved in the investigation and data collection. All authors reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research received no external funding.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJi Yang contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study, conducted the investigation, wrote the main manuscript text, and prepared figures. Minglu Zheng contributed to the investigation, data curation, and prepared tables. Tianmu Liu performed the formal analysis, participated in the investigation, and assisted in data collection. Xuejun Xie and Feng Zhen were involved in the investigation and data collection. All authors reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors thank all the college students who participated in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data and materials are not publicly available due to participant privacy but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request by qualified researchers.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArora, S., Chaudhary, P., \u0026amp; Singh, R. K. (2021). Impact of coronavirus and online exam anxiety on self-efficacy: the moderating role of coping strategy. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 18(3), 475-492. doi:10.1108/itse-08-2020-0158\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBall, I., Banerjee, M., Holliman, A., \u0026amp; Tyndall, I. (2025). Investigating Success in the Transition to University: A Systematic Review of Personal Risk and Protective Factors Influencing Psychosocial Success. Educational Psychology Review, 37(3). doi:10.1007/s10648-025-10047-x\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBarthel, A. L., Aderka, I. M., Byrne, A. J., Peckham, A. D., \u0026amp; Hofmann, S. G. (2021). Distinct and interacting impacts of trait anxiety and a state anxiety manipulation on attentional switching. Anxiety, Stress, \u0026amp;amp; Coping, 35(4), 409-424. doi:10.1080/10615806.2021.1983801\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBudimir, S., Probst, T., \u0026amp; Pieh, C. (2021). Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown. J Ment Health, 30(2), 156-163. doi:10.1080/09638237.2021.1875412\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChoenarom, C., Williams, R. A., \u0026amp; Hagerty, B. M. (2005). The role of sense of belonging and social support on stress and depression in individuals with depression. 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Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"state anxiety, college student adjustment, coping styles, perceived social support, moderated moderation effect","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968494/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8968494/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction: \u003c/strong\u003eThe transition to university life presents significant developmental challenges, and state anxiety is increasingly recognized as a key factor undermining college student adjustment. However, the psychological mechanisms through which anxiety relates to adjustment remain insufficiently understood. Drawing upon evolutionary, transactional, and resource-based perspectives, this study investigates how coping styles moderate the anxiety-adjustment relationship and whether perceived social support further conditions these moderating effects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e A total of 1105 college students were surveyed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, Perceived Social Support Scale, and Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e State anxiety was negatively associated with college adjustment. Both positive coping and negative coping significantly moderated this relationship. Perceived social support further moderated the moderating effect of coping styles. For negative coping, the buffering effect of perceived social support was particularly pronounced: among students with high negative coping, those with high perceived social support showed the weakest negative association between anxiety and adjustment. For positive coping, the combination of high positive coping and low perceived social support yielded the most protective effect, with the weakest negative association between state anxiety and college student adjustment observed in this group. These findings provide empirical evidence for the development of targeted psychological intervention programs for college students with different coping styles.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThese findings advance understanding of anxiety-adjustment dynamics by demonstrating that coping effectiveness is context-dependent and jointly shaped by internal regulatory resources and external social resources. The results challenge simplistic coping categorizations and support a resource-regulation framework wherein adaptation emerges from dynamic interactions among emotional states, individual coping patterns, and social contexts.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Is negative coping necessarily \"bad\"? 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