How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect

How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect Junliang Zhang, Chuangang Wan, Shuang Zheng, Ruiqing Shen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective To investigate how rumination influences the relationship between depression among college students and social support, and to test the moderating effect of gender differences on this basis. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted using random cluster sampling method to select college students from several colleges and universities in Jiangxi and Zhejiang regions, and SPSS 26.0 was used for regression analysis and PROCESS plug-in for the construction of a moderated mediation model. Results Rumination partially mediated the association between social support and depression (indirect impact β = 0.68, P < 0.01);Social support adversely predicted depression in college students ( β =-0.40, P < 0.001); and gender moderated the direct pathway of social support on college students' depression.Compared to male college students, female students were more likely to experience depression if they had lower amounts of social support. Conclusion Social support influenced college students' depression through the mediation of rumination thinking and the moderation of gender. Social support Depression Rumination College students Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Introduction Depression, as a significant indicator of an individual's adverse mood, refers to the persistent occurrence of negative emotions in people's lives [1], impacting an individual's lifestyle, cognition, conduct, and overall well-being, among other aspects [2–3]. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2030, depression would overtake all other burdensome illnesses worldwide[4]. College students, transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, undergo substantial mood fluctuations, rendering them a demographic with a high prevalence of depression[5]. College students exhibiting depressive tendencies may encounter challenges in sleep, appetite disruption, and self-harm, and in severe instances, even engage in suicidal acts [6]. Thus, delving into the risk factors linked to depression among college students holds significance in the managing and preventing mental health problems in this demographic. Social support and depression In recent years, Social support has emerged as one of the most important external environmental factors impacting depression in college students, as studies have focused more and more on these factors. Social support, defined as the assistance and aid individuals receive through social interactions, serves to mitigate psychological stress, alleviate mental strain, and enhance social adaptability [7]. The primary effects model of social support posits that it helps sustain positive emotions while diminishing negative ones, such as depression [8]. It is suggested that interactions with family and friends provide both emotional and instrumental support, and when interpersonal needs are unmet, individuals receive less social support, rendering them susceptible to depression [9]. Prior investigations have indicated that individuals with diminished social support levels endure heightened stress and are prone to negative emotions like anxiety and depression[10–11]. Conversely, as individuals' social support levels rise, depression can diminish or be alleviated through direct or indirect means, such as the mediation of psychological resilience[12]. Conversely, insufficient social support correlates with increased vulnerability to anxiety and depression[13]. Essentially, strong social support serves as a preventative measure, reducing or delaying the onset of depression symptoms. The study's conclusion is that college students' depression can be lessened by having social support. Rumination thinking as a mediator Rumination thinking is the cognitive process wherein individuals persistently dwell on emotions and problems, characterized by contemplation and reflection[14]. This specific cognitive style, known as rumination, serves as a predictor for negative emotional diagnoses, particularly anxiety and depression, and serves as a precursor to mental health disorders [15]. Within this cognitive framework, individuals' inability to find suitable solutions to their problems leads to a cycle of escalating issues and stress, intensifying rumination and exacerbating levels of depression, ultimately culminating in the development of severe mental health issues [16]. Studies have demonstrated rumination poses a risk associated with depression in teenagers, predicting the onset and duration of depressive episodes; hence, one potential intervention technique for teenage depression is to reduce ruminating[17].It is known that social support can protect people under stress from unfavorable emotional states and unhelpful reactions, such as rumination, with low social support significantly correlated with rumination [18]. Adequate social support fosters a sense of security and validation, enabling individuals to positively appraise stressful events, thereby reducing rumination and averting negative emotions, including depression. Consequently, the association between depression and social support in college students may be mediated by rumination. Moderating role of gender Moreover, gender is a moderating factor in variables like social support and depression, with gender differences representing a significant area of focus in psychological research concerning college students. Previous studies have indicated evident gender disparities in depression within the college student population, with female students exhibiting notably greater depression scores than their male counterparts. Research suggests that the impact of social support varies between male and female college students; specifically,in comparison to female students, male students often report higher amounts of social support, whereas female college students who report lower levels of social support are more susceptible to depression[19]. However, some studies propose that the gender difference in depression incidence is contingent upon contextual factors, with instances where male students may even exhibit a higher susceptibility to depression than female students [20–21]. Basically, the purpose of this study is to find out how college students get depression and whether gender has an impact on the association between depression and social support. Thus, the association between depression in college students and social support may be moderated by gender. Hypotheses and model of this study To put it briefly, the purpose of this study is to create a moderated mediation model (see Fig. 1 ) that takes into account the moderating and mediating roles of gender and rumination thinking in order to investigate the relationship between depression and social support among Chinese college students. Three theories are put forth by the study: H1: Social support positively predicts depression among college students. H2: Rumination thinking serves as a mediator in the relationship between social support and depression among college students. H3: Gender moderates the relationship between social support and depression among college students. This research seeks to offer insights into the complex interplay of social support, rumination thinking, gender, and depression among college students in China. Research Methods Subjects This study employed a combination of paper-based and web-based questionnaires to collect data. The research focused on students from various universities in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces. 90.2% of the 1002 valid responses to the questionnaires that were circulated were received.Among the participants, 545 were male (59%) and 379 were female (41%). Additionally, there were 369 urban students (40%) and 565 rural students (60%). Regarding family structure, 230 participants were only children (24.9%), while 694 were not (75.1%). Regarding academic classification, there were 321 freshmen (34.7%), 206 sophomores (22.3%), 189 juniors (20.5%), and 208 seniors (22.5%). The respondents' average age was 18.9 years, with a 0.87 standard deviation. Research scales Social support questionnaire We utilized the Comprehension Social Support Scale,which Jiang Qianjin further refined after Zimet et al.[22]. This scale comprises 12 items and is categorized into three dimensions: support within the family, support from friends, and other forms of support. Respondents were asked to rate each item on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (indicating "completely disagree") to 7 (indicating "completely agree"). A higher total score on the scale reflects a greater perceived level of social support by the respondents. For the scale used in this survey, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed to be 0.96, indicating a good degree of internal consistency. Depressive mood questionnaire We employed the depression scale developed by Gong Xu et al. for assessment purposes[23]. This scale comprises 9 items, such as "In the past week: I would be overly sensitive to things." Each item had to be rated by the respondents on a 4-point scale, with 0 representing "rarely or not at all" and 3 representing "almost every day." A respondent experiencing a higher level of depression is indicated by a higher overall score on the scale.For the scale used in this investigation, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed to be 0.96, indicating a good degree of internal consistency. Rumination Thinking Questionnaire We employed the Rumination Thinking Scale (RRS) developed by Nolen-Hoeksema[24], which comprises 22 items across three dimensions: symptom rumination, obsessive-compulsive thinking, and introspective thinking.Each item was rated by the respondents on a scale of 1 to 4, where 1 meant "almost never" and 4 meant "almost always." A respondent's propensity to ruminate is indicated by a higher overall score on the scale. With a high degree of internal consistency, the scale used in this study has a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.97. Research procedures and data processing The researcher distributed the questionnaires to the study participants following a standardized administration process. Upon collection of all questionnaires, they were meticulously screened, and invalid responses were excluded based on predetermined criteria. Subsequently, data processing was conducted. SPSS 24.0 software was utilized for data entry and statistical analysis. Additionally, Process 3.3 was employed for conducting analyses involving multiple mediating roles and mediating roles with moderation. This comprehensive approach ensured thorough examination of the information gathered and facilitated the examination of the proposed hypotheses. Results of the study Common method bias test This study employed a number of procedural controls to lessen the possibility that common method bias might affect the research findings. Firstly, a questionnaire with demonstrated reliability and validity was selected as the research instrument. Secondly, anonymity was ensured during the collection of questionnaires from multiple schools, utilizing both online and offline methods to enhance the diversity and representativeness of the sample. Finally, Harman's one-way test was conducted to assess common method bias. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on all questionnaire items to examine the results of unrotated factor analysis. Ten factors with eigenvalues greater than one were found in the analysis; the first common factor's variance explanation, at 35.2%, was less than the 40% requirement. Zhou Hao and Long Lirong state that this suggests that the study did not have a major common technique bias[25]. The purpose of implementing these procedural controls was to guarantee the accuracy and consistency of the research findings. Result based on each variable's descriptive statistics and correlation analysis Table 1 illustrates that rumination and depression were strongly positively connected, while social support was significantly inversely correlated with both. Furthermore, there was a substantial correlation found between gender and grade level and the primary factors for additional research. Table 1 Results of correlation analysis for each variable (N = 924) M SD 1 2 3 4 5 1.Gender 0.41 0.49 1 2.Grade 2.31 1.17 0.09** 1 3.Social Support 54.82 15.63 -0.16** -0.08** 1 4.Rumination 42.20 15.00 -0.05** 0.12** -0.27** 1 5.Depression 12.06 4.86 0.02** 0.20** -0.40** 0.74** 1 Note:*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, same below. Test of the mediating influence of rumination on the association between social support and depression among college students This study investigated the association between social support, rumination, and depression among college students.The mediating effect was analyzed using the Process plug-in within SPSS 24.0, with gender and grade included as control variables.Rumination served as the mediating variable, social support as the independent variable, and depression among college students as the dependent variable. Bootstrap samples were set to 5,000, and a mediating effect model was constructed.Table 2 displays the regression analysis results, which reveal that social support has an indirect effect on college students' depression levels through rumination ( β = 0.68, p < 0.001) in addition to having a direct effect ( β =-0.40, p < 0.001).This shows that rumination can be used by social support to moderate college students' depression levels. Table 2 Regression analysis of variables variable Depression Rumination Depression β t 95%CI β t 95%CI β t 95%CI Social support −0.40 −13.16*** [−0.46,−0.34] −0.27 −8.58*** [−0.33,−0.21] −0.21 −9.68** [−0.25,−0.17] Rumination 0.68 31.42** [0.64,0.73] R 2 0.07 0.16 0.59 F 75.55*** 173.21*** 672.70*** Furthermore, there was no zero in the percentile Bootstrap confidence interval [-0.23, -0.12] of the indirect effect, indicating the existence of a mediating effect. Moreover, Table 3 illustrates that the percentile Bootstrap confidence range of the direct effect [-0.26, -0.18] did not contain 0. This suggests that social support and depression in college students are somewhat mediated, with the mediating impact accounting for 46%. Table 3 Analysis of relative mediation effects Effect size Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI Percent Indirect 0.18 0.03 -0.23 -0.12 46% Direct 0.21 0.02 -0.26 -0.18 54% Total 0.39 0.03 -0.45 -0.34 100% Gender's Moderating Effect on the Relationship Between Social Support and Depression among College Students This study utilized the Process plug-in in SPSS 24.0 to examine mediating and moderating effects in order to better explore the function of rumination in the association between social support and depression in college students.Social support was treated as the independent variable, depression as the dependent variable, gender as the moderator variable, and rumination as the mediator variable. Model 5 in the Process plug-in was used to construct a mediated effects model with moderation, with Bootstrap sample size set to 5000.The results reveal that the combination of social support and college students' depression levels are considerably impacted by their gender (β = 0.19, p < 0.001), implying that gender moderates the positive predictive effect of social support. Table 4 presents a study of the moderating effect of moderation. Table 4 Mediation effects test with moderation variable Rumination Depression β t 95%CI β t 95%CI Social support −0.27 −8.58*** [−0.33,−0.21] −0.27 −10.89*** [−0.32,−0.22] Rumination 0.69 31.98*** [0.65,0.73] gender 0.15 3.41** [0.06,0.23] Intl−1 0.19 3.93*** [0.09,0.28[] R 2 0.07 0.61 F 73.55*** 354.33*** The results of a simple slope analysis showed that female college students were more affected by social support in terms of depression levels than male college students (see Fig. 2 ). This suggests that as social support increases, depression levels generally rise for college students of both genders, but the escalation in depression levels is notably more substantial for female students compared to male students. Discussion The study included 924 college students and focused on investigating the relationship between social support and depression among college students, as well as the mediating influence of rumination behavior and the moderating impact of gender. It comprehensively clarified the likely mechanism by which social support influences college students' depression, revealing important information for the prevention and treatment of depression among college students. The Role of Social Support on Depression in College Students The study confirmed Hypothesis 1 by showing that depression in college students was negatively impacted by social support. It was shown that college students' levels of depression lessened as their social support networks grew,aligning with findings from prior research [26]. Furthermore, bootstrap analysis revealed that the direct effect was responsible for 54% of the total effect, suggesting that social support continued to have a significant predictive power for depression in college students even in the presence of a mediating effect of rumination, social support retained a substantial predictive capacity for college students' depression. This outcome corroborates the overarching effect model of social support, suggesting its broad beneficial impact on individuals' physical and mental well-being. Social support not only serves a caregiving function during periods of psychological stress but also fosters positive emotional experiences and maintains overall mental and physical health [27].Therefore, within the realm of higher education, educational administrators should prioritize the cultivation of college students' social interactions and adaptive abilities. Facilitating the establishment of effective social support networks, enhancing subjective perceptions of social support, and promoting the utilization of available support systems can bolster interpersonal communication skills. As interpersonal communication abilities improve, instances of college students' depression are mitigated and effectively prevented, contributing to an overall sense of well-being [28]. Mediating role of rumination This study revealed that rumination serves as a mediating factor between social support and college students' depression, thereby affirming Hypothesis 2. In addition to its direct impact, social support was found to exert an indirect influence on college students' depression through rumination. The study's findings indicate a substantial mediating effect size of 0.46, signifying that nearly half of the impact of social support on college students' depression is channeled through rumination. This underscores the significance of the mediating effect in elucidating the relationship between social support and college students' depression. Essentially, individuals with higher levels of ruminative thinking are more susceptible to depression when social support levels are comparable.This observation aligns with the findings of He Tingting et al. [29], who highlighted that college students experiencing inadequate social support often lack a sense of security and well-being, thereby increasing their vulnerability to anxiety and loneliness. Consequently, they may engage in rumination as a coping mechanism, perpetuating a cycle of negative thinking. Ruminative thinking tends to foster negative expectations of external stimuli, leading to feelings of helplessness and disappointment, ultimately culminating in depression [30]. Moderating role of gender This study verified Hypothesis 3 by showing that gender differences influence the direct impact of social support on depression levels among college students. Gender appeared as a critical mediator in determining the association between social support and depression in college students, with female college students experiencing a more negative predictive effect from social support. In essence, compared to their male counterparts, female college students are more susceptible to depression and experience longer durations of depressive episodes when social support levels are similar[31]. This finding further underscores the well-established notion that women are more susceptible to depression than males [32].Social role theory posits that disparities in social roles and cultural norms contribute to males being perceived as more dominant than females. Consequently, males tend to excel in utilizing self-support mechanisms to bolster self-perceptions and cultivate positive evaluations, thereby experiencing stronger social support. Conversely, females often have lower levels of social support and exhibit a weaker sense of self, rendering them more susceptible to maladaptive emotions that can precipitate anxiety and depression. Significance of the research Firstly, one important component in keeping college students from developing depressed is social support. Hence, it's imperative for students to acknowledge its significance and actively pursue avenues for social support. Given the mediating function of ruminative thinking in the link between social support and college students' depression, it becomes essential to guide students towards adopting more positive and psychologically sound cognitive styles when seeking social support. By replacing rumination with constructive cognitive appraisals, the incidence of depression can be mitigated. Furthermore, this study will delve into the moderating influence of gender on this relationship. Gender's impact on mental health is multifaceted and pivotal. Understanding how gender factors interact with the relationship between social support and depression could facilitate the provision of more tailored mental health support for gender-diverse college students. Additionally, it might support the creation of focused mental health treatments that target particular requirements according to gender variations. Shortcomings of this study Firstly, employing a cross-sectional design enables the examination of correlations and mechanisms among variables. However, it does not allow for the establishment of causal relationships. Future studies could benefit from employing longitudinal follow-up research designs to better discern the causal links between variables. Secondly, this study delved into the potential mechanisms through which social support impacts college students' depression, focusing on ruminative thinking. Subsequent research endeavors could explore alternative mediating factors (e.g., psychological resilience, positive thinking, etc.) between social support and depression, as well as investigate the moderating effects of other variables (e.g., coping styles, self-efficacy, etc.).Exploring such avenues of research could provide a deeper insight into the mechanisms through which social support affects depression among college students, thereby facilitating the development of more targeted interventions. Conclusion Social support exerts influence on depression among college students through both direct pathways and partial mediation via rumination. Additionally,gender moderates the impact of social support on depression, with a more notable effect observed among female college students compared to their male counterparts. Declarations Data availability statement The corresponding author can make the raw data in this study available to anyone who needs it. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank all the participants for their efforts in the study Competing interests We declare that the authors do not have any conflicting interest or any other interests that might be seen to affect the results and/or discussion presented in this manuscript. Funding This work was supported by Social science project,College of Science and Technology,Nanchang Hangkong University(KYSK2306),and the Life Education studio, College of Science and Technology,Nanchang Hangkong University. Authors' contributions Junliang Zhang and Shuang zheng conceived and designed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. Ruiqing Shen , Chuangang Wan, and Junliang Zhang carried out the protocol and the questionnaire survey and revised the manuscript. Junliang Zhang analyzed the data. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Ethics approval and consent to participate Approval for this study was granted by the Ethics Committee of College of the Science and Technology , Nanchang Hangkong University, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The methods adhered to the principles outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration. Informed Consent All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. References Tyrovolas 1FA, Koyanagi S, Chatterji A, Leonardi S, Ayuso-Mateos M, Tobiasz-Adamczyk JL, Koskinen B, Rummel-Kluge S, C., Haro JM. The role of socio-economic status in depression: results from the COURAGE (aging survey in Europe). BMC Public Health. 2016;16(1):1098. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3638-0 . Juan 2H, Zhu YG, Fang XY. Cell phone addiction and depression: Multiple mediating roles of social anxiety and attentional bias for negative emotional information. Psychol J. 2021;53(4):362–73. Zheng 3ZJ, Hu S, Z., Wang J. 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The effects of navigating social support on adolescent depression:the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of gender. Psychol Technol Appl. 2017;5(11):665–71. https://doi.org/10.16842/j.cnki.issn2095-5588.2017.11.004 . Gupta 32KB, Gautam BBKS, Tiwari R, Khanal A, Subedi A, Dhakal B, D., Adhikari R. Depression among Medical Students of a Medical College: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. JNMA. 2023;61(259):245–8. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.7869 . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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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-4373768","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":300747132,"identity":"694d8ec9-cc92-418c-ab88-90d57319485d","order_by":0,"name":"Junliang Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAy0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCww0MjA0JjA3sjY0PPhCn5SBUC8/hZsMZxGlhhGqRSG+T5iBGg3zjwbYHP3ekyW64+bBBmoHBTk63gaAdB9sNe8/kGM+cndhgXMCQbGx2gIAWZoaDbdKMbRWJ/dKJDckzGA4kbiOkhQ2mpU3yYMNhHmK08EC05CT2SzA2NhOlRQKoRbK3Lc14Zk9iM+MMAyL8Ij/j8DGJn23JshuOH3/+40OFnRxBLQwSKCoMCCkHAf4GYlSNglEwCkbBiAYAI25Jz4HKSoEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Science and Technology College, Nanchang Hangkong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junliang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":300747136,"identity":"11474a9b-e5b9-44ad-bfe7-059dd414275d","order_by":1,"name":"Chuangang Wan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Science and Technology College, Nanchang Hangkong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chuangang","middleName":"","lastName":"Wan","suffix":""},{"id":300747140,"identity":"3eeea1cc-56f2-46c3-855e-e39ed91a250b","order_by":2,"name":"Shuang Zheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Science and Technology College, Nanchang Hangkong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shuang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zheng","suffix":""},{"id":300747142,"identity":"27ef7154-4071-41ec-82a6-4a66cee370f6","order_by":3,"name":"Ruiqing Shen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Science and Technology College, Nanchang Hangkong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ruiqing","middleName":"","lastName":"Shen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-05-06 03:29:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":56450585,"identity":"c77bc21d-0dac-47d9-bbda-8654178938f1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 10:30:19","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":13147,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModerated mediation model\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4373768/v1/1f97750bdc25a1e26a3e2455.jpeg"},{"id":56450586,"identity":"69a70b31-ae1f-4b75-b57c-b04e6cd978b2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 10:30:19","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":13099,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlot of the slope of the moderating effect of gender\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4373768/v1/9d1f27d3c30967aa06e55b12.png"},{"id":77114163,"identity":"6c70f88e-e0c3-4b3d-9305-5cc124eb7f93","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-25 09:24:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1023181,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4373768/v1/ad8862c6-818d-48c4-8860-04cbf3fe9651.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eDepression, as a significant indicator of an individual's adverse mood, refers to the persistent occurrence of negative emotions in people's lives [1], impacting an individual's lifestyle, cognition, conduct, and overall well-being, among other aspects [2\u0026ndash;3]. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2030, depression would overtake all other burdensome illnesses worldwide[4]. College students, transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, undergo substantial mood fluctuations, rendering them a demographic with a high prevalence of depression[5]. College students exhibiting depressive tendencies may encounter challenges in sleep, appetite disruption, and self-harm, and in severe instances, even engage in suicidal acts [6]. Thus, delving into the risk factors linked to depression among college students holds significance in the managing and preventing mental health problems in this demographic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocial support and depression\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn recent years, Social support has emerged as one of the most important external environmental factors impacting depression in college students, as studies have focused more and more on these factors. Social support, defined as the assistance and aid individuals receive through social interactions, serves to mitigate psychological stress, alleviate mental strain, and enhance social adaptability [7]. The primary effects model of social support posits that it helps sustain positive emotions while diminishing negative ones, such as depression [8]. It is suggested that interactions with family and friends provide both emotional and instrumental support, and when interpersonal needs are unmet, individuals receive less social support, rendering them susceptible to depression [9]. Prior investigations have indicated that individuals with diminished social support levels endure heightened stress and are prone to negative emotions like anxiety and depression[10\u0026ndash;11]. Conversely, as individuals' social support levels rise, depression can diminish or be alleviated through direct or indirect means, such as the mediation of psychological resilience[12]. Conversely, insufficient social support correlates with increased vulnerability to anxiety and depression[13]. Essentially, strong social support serves as a preventative measure, reducing or delaying the onset of depression symptoms. The study's conclusion is that college students' depression can be lessened by having social support.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRumination thinking as a mediator\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination thinking is the cognitive process wherein individuals persistently dwell on emotions and problems, characterized by contemplation and reflection[14]. This specific cognitive style, known as rumination, serves as a predictor for negative emotional diagnoses, particularly anxiety and depression, and serves as a precursor to mental health disorders [15]. Within this cognitive framework, individuals' inability to find suitable solutions to their problems leads to a cycle of escalating issues and stress, intensifying rumination and exacerbating levels of depression, ultimately culminating in the development of severe mental health issues [16]. Studies have demonstrated rumination poses a risk associated with depression in teenagers, predicting the onset and duration of depressive episodes; hence, one potential intervention technique for teenage depression is to reduce ruminating[17].It is known that social support can protect people under stress from unfavorable emotional states and unhelpful reactions, such as rumination, with low social support significantly correlated with rumination [18]. Adequate social support fosters a sense of security and validation, enabling individuals to positively appraise stressful events, thereby reducing rumination and averting negative emotions, including depression. Consequently, the association between depression and social support in college students may be mediated by rumination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eModerating role of gender\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, gender is a moderating factor in variables like social support and depression, with gender differences representing a significant area of focus in psychological research concerning college students. Previous studies have indicated evident gender disparities in depression within the college student population, with female students exhibiting notably greater depression scores than their male counterparts. Research suggests that the impact of social support varies between male and female college students; specifically,in comparison to female students, male students often report higher amounts of social support, whereas female college students who report lower levels of social support are more susceptible to depression[19]. However, some studies propose that the gender difference in depression incidence is contingent upon contextual factors, with instances where male students may even exhibit a higher susceptibility to depression than female students [20\u0026ndash;21]. Basically, the purpose of this study is to find out how college students get depression and whether gender has an impact on the association between depression and social support. Thus, the association between depression in college students and social support may be moderated by gender.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eHypotheses and model of this study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo put it briefly, the purpose of this study is to create a moderated mediation model (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) that takes into account the moderating and mediating roles of gender and rumination thinking in order to investigate the relationship between depression and social support among Chinese college students. Three theories are put forth by the study:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH1: Social support positively predicts depression among college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH2: Rumination thinking serves as a mediator in the relationship between social support and depression among college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH3: Gender moderates the relationship between social support and depression among college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis research seeks to offer insights into the complex interplay of social support, rumination thinking, gender, and depression among college students in China.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Research Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSubjects\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study employed a combination of paper-based and web-based questionnaires to collect data. The research focused on students from various universities in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces. 90.2% of the 1002 valid responses to the questionnaires that were circulated were received.Among the participants, 545 were male (59%) and 379 were female (41%). Additionally, there were 369 urban students (40%) and 565 rural students (60%). Regarding family structure, 230 participants were only children (24.9%), while 694 were not (75.1%). Regarding academic classification, there were 321 freshmen (34.7%), 206 sophomores (22.3%), 189 juniors (20.5%), and 208 seniors (22.5%). The respondents' average age was 18.9 years, with a 0.87 standard deviation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResearch scales\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocial support questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe utilized the Comprehension Social Support Scale,which Jiang Qianjin further refined after Zimet et al.[22]. This scale comprises 12 items and is categorized into three dimensions: support within the family, support from friends, and other forms of support. Respondents were asked to rate each item on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (indicating \"completely disagree\") to 7 (indicating \"completely agree\"). A higher total score on the scale reflects a greater perceived level of social support by the respondents. For the scale used in this survey, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed to be 0.96, indicating a good degree of internal consistency.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eDepressive mood questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe employed the depression scale developed by Gong Xu et al. for assessment purposes[23]. This scale comprises 9 items, such as \"In the past week: I would be overly sensitive to things.\" Each item had to be rated by the respondents on a 4-point scale, with 0 representing \"rarely or not at all\" and 3 representing \"almost every day.\" A respondent experiencing a higher level of depression is indicated by a higher overall score on the scale.For the scale used in this investigation, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was computed to be 0.96, indicating a good degree of internal consistency.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRumination Thinking Questionnaire\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe employed the Rumination Thinking Scale (RRS) developed by Nolen-Hoeksema[24], which comprises 22 items across three dimensions: symptom rumination, obsessive-compulsive thinking, and introspective thinking.Each item was rated by the respondents on a scale of 1 to 4, where 1 meant \"almost never\" and 4 meant \"almost always.\" A respondent's propensity to ruminate is indicated by a higher overall score on the scale. With a high degree of internal consistency, the scale used in this study has a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.97.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResearch procedures and data processing\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe researcher distributed the questionnaires to the study participants following a standardized administration process. Upon collection of all questionnaires, they were meticulously screened, and invalid responses were excluded based on predetermined criteria. Subsequently, data processing was conducted. SPSS 24.0 software was utilized for data entry and statistical analysis. Additionally, Process 3.3 was employed for conducting analyses involving multiple mediating roles and mediating roles with moderation. This comprehensive approach ensured thorough examination of the information gathered and facilitated the examination of the proposed hypotheses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResults of the study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCommon method bias test\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study employed a number of procedural controls to lessen the possibility that common method bias might affect the research findings. Firstly, a questionnaire with demonstrated reliability and validity was selected as the research instrument. Secondly, anonymity was ensured during the collection of questionnaires from multiple schools, utilizing both online and offline methods to enhance the diversity and representativeness of the sample. Finally, Harman's one-way test was conducted to assess common method bias. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on all questionnaire items to examine the results of unrotated factor analysis. Ten factors with eigenvalues greater than one were found in the analysis; the first common factor's variance explanation, at 35.2%, was less than the 40% requirement. Zhou Hao and Long Lirong state that this suggests that the study did not have a major common technique bias[25]. The purpose of implementing these procedural controls was to guarantee the accuracy and consistency of the research findings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResult based on each variable's descriptive statistics and correlation analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e illustrates that rumination and depression were strongly positively connected, while social support was significantly inversely correlated with both. Furthermore, there was a substantial correlation found between gender and grade level and the primary factors for additional research.\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\u003eResults of correlation analysis for each variable (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;924)\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\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\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.Gender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.41\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\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.Grade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.09**\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.Social Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.16**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.08**\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.Rumination\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.00\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.05**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.12**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.27**\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.Depression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.20**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.40**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.74**\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:*p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, **p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, same below.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eTest of the mediating influence of rumination on the association between social support and depression among college students\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study investigated the association between social support, rumination, and depression among college students.The mediating effect was analyzed using the Process plug-in within SPSS 24.0, with gender and grade included as control variables.Rumination served as the mediating variable, social support as the independent variable, and depression among college students as the dependent variable. Bootstrap samples were set to 5,000, and a mediating effect model was constructed.Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e displays the regression analysis results, which reveal that social support has an indirect effect on college students' depression levels through rumination (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.68,\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) in addition to having a direct effect (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e=-0.40,\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).This shows that rumination can be used by social support to moderate college students' depression levels.\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 analysis of variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"12\"\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 \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\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\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDepression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDepression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;13.16***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.46,\u0026minus;0.34]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;8.58***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.33,\u0026minus;0.21]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;9.68**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.25,\u0026minus;0.17]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination\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 \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.42**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.64,0.73]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.07\u003c/p\u003e \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 \u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75.55***\u003c/p\u003e \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\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e173.21***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e672.70***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, there was no zero in the percentile Bootstrap confidence interval [-0.23, -0.12] of the indirect effect, indicating the existence of a mediating effect. Moreover, Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e illustrates that the percentile Bootstrap confidence range of the direct effect [-0.26, -0.18] did not contain 0. This suggests that social support and depression in college students are somewhat mediated, with the mediating impact accounting for 46%.\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\u003eAnalysis of relative mediation effects\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\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot LLCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot ULCI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGender's Moderating Effect on the Relationship Between Social Support and Depression among College Students\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study utilized the Process plug-in in SPSS 24.0 to examine mediating and moderating effects in order to better explore the function of rumination in the association between social support and depression in college students.Social support was treated as the independent variable, depression as the dependent variable, gender as the moderator variable, and rumination as the mediator variable. Model 5 in the Process plug-in was used to construct a mediated effects model with moderation, with Bootstrap sample size set to 5000.The results reveal that the combination of social support and college students' depression levels are considerably impacted by their gender \u003cem\u003e(β\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.19, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), implying that gender moderates the positive predictive effect of social support. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e presents a study of the moderating effect of moderation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMediation effects test with moderation\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\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 \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\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\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDepression\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;8.58***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.33,\u0026minus;0.21]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;10.89***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.32,\u0026minus;0.22]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination\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 \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.98***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.65,0.73]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003egender\u003c/em\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 \u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.41**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.06,0.23]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIntl\u0026minus;1\u003c/em\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 \u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.93***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.09,0.28[]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\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 \u003cp\u003e0.07\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 \u003cp\u003e0.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\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\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e73.55***\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\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e354.33***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of a simple slope analysis showed that female college students were more affected by social support in terms of depression levels than male college students (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). This suggests that as social support increases, depression levels generally rise for college students of both genders, but the escalation in depression levels is notably more substantial for female students compared to male students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study included 924 college students and focused on investigating the relationship between social support and depression among college students, as well as the mediating influence of rumination behavior and the moderating impact of gender. It comprehensively clarified the likely mechanism by which social support influences college students' depression, revealing important information for the prevention and treatment of depression among college students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Role of Social Support on Depression in College Students\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study confirmed Hypothesis 1 by showing that depression in college students was negatively impacted by social support. It was shown that college students' levels of depression lessened as their social support networks grew,aligning with findings from prior research [26]. Furthermore, bootstrap analysis revealed that the direct effect was responsible for 54% of the total effect, suggesting that social support continued to have a significant predictive power for depression in college students even in the presence of a mediating effect of rumination, social support retained a substantial predictive capacity for college students' depression. This outcome corroborates the overarching effect model of social support, suggesting its broad beneficial impact on individuals' physical and mental well-being. Social support not only serves a caregiving function during periods of psychological stress but also fosters positive emotional experiences and maintains overall mental and physical health [27].Therefore, within the realm of higher education, educational administrators should prioritize the cultivation of college students' social interactions and adaptive abilities. Facilitating the establishment of effective social support networks, enhancing subjective perceptions of social support, and promoting the utilization of available support systems can bolster interpersonal communication skills. As interpersonal communication abilities improve, instances of college students' depression are mitigated and effectively prevented, contributing to an overall sense of well-being [28].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMediating role of rumination\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study revealed that rumination serves as a mediating factor between social support and college students' depression, thereby affirming Hypothesis 2. In addition to its direct impact, social support was found to exert an indirect influence on college students' depression through rumination. The study's findings indicate a substantial mediating effect size of 0.46, signifying that nearly half of the impact of social support on college students' depression is channeled through rumination. This underscores the significance of the mediating effect in elucidating the relationship between social support and college students' depression. Essentially, individuals with higher levels of ruminative thinking are more susceptible to depression when social support levels are comparable.This observation aligns with the findings of He Tingting et al. [29], who highlighted that college students experiencing inadequate social support often lack a sense of security and well-being, thereby increasing their vulnerability to anxiety and loneliness. Consequently, they may engage in rumination as a coping mechanism, perpetuating a cycle of negative thinking. Ruminative thinking tends to foster negative expectations of external stimuli, leading to feelings of helplessness and disappointment, ultimately culminating in depression [30].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eModerating role of gender\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study verified Hypothesis 3 by showing that gender differences influence the direct impact of social support on depression levels among college students. Gender appeared as a critical mediator in determining the association between social support and depression in college students, with female college students experiencing a more negative predictive effect from social support. In essence, compared to their male counterparts, female college students are more susceptible to depression and experience longer durations of depressive episodes when social support levels are similar[31]. This finding further underscores the well-established notion that women are more susceptible to depression than males [32].Social role theory posits that disparities in social roles and cultural norms contribute to males being perceived as more dominant than females. Consequently, males tend to excel in utilizing self-support mechanisms to bolster self-perceptions and cultivate positive evaluations, thereby experiencing stronger social support. Conversely, females often have lower levels of social support and exhibit a weaker sense of self, rendering them more susceptible to maladaptive emotions that can precipitate anxiety and depression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSignificance of the research\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirstly, one important component in keeping college students from developing depressed is social support. Hence, it's imperative for students to acknowledge its significance and actively pursue avenues for social support.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the mediating function of ruminative thinking in the link between social support and college students' depression, it becomes essential to guide students towards adopting more positive and psychologically sound cognitive styles when seeking social support. By replacing rumination with constructive cognitive appraisals, the incidence of depression can be mitigated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, this study will delve into the moderating influence of gender on this relationship. Gender's impact on mental health is multifaceted and pivotal. Understanding how gender factors interact with the relationship between social support and depression could facilitate the provision of more tailored mental health support for gender-diverse college students. Additionally, it might support the creation of focused mental health treatments that target particular requirements according to gender variations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eShortcomings of this study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirstly, employing a cross-sectional design enables the examination of correlations and mechanisms among variables. However, it does not allow for the establishment of causal relationships. Future studies could benefit from employing longitudinal follow-up research designs to better discern the causal links between variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecondly, this study delved into the potential mechanisms through which social support impacts college students' depression, focusing on ruminative thinking. Subsequent research endeavors could explore alternative mediating factors (e.g., psychological resilience, positive thinking, etc.) between social support and depression, as well as investigate the moderating effects of other variables (e.g., coping styles, self-efficacy, etc.).Exploring such avenues of research could provide a deeper insight into the mechanisms through which social support affects depression among college students, thereby facilitating the development of more targeted interventions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eSocial support exerts influence on depression among college students through both direct pathways and partial mediation via rumination. Additionally,gender moderates the impact of social support on depression, with a more notable effect observed among female college students compared to their male counterparts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe corresponding author can make the raw data in this study available to anyone who needs it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors wish to thank all the participants for their efforts in the study\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe declare that the authors do not have any conflicting interest or any other interests that might be seen to affect the results and/or discussion presented in this manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by Social science project,College of Science and Technology,Nanchang Hangkong University(KYSK2306),and the Life Education studio, College of Science and Technology,Nanchang Hangkong University.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJunliang Zhang and Shuang zheng conceived and designed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. Ruiqing Shen , Chuangang Wan, and Junliang Zhang carried out the protocol and the questionnaire survey and revised the manuscript. Junliang Zhang analyzed the data. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproval for this study was granted by the Ethics Committee of College of the Science and Technology , Nanchang Hangkong University, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The methods adhered to the principles outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed Consent\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTyrovolas 1FA, Koyanagi S, Chatterji A, Leonardi S, Ayuso-Mateos M, Tobiasz-Adamczyk JL, Koskinen B, Rummel-Kluge S, C., Haro JM. The role of socio-economic status in depression: results from the COURAGE (aging survey in Europe). BMC Public Health. 2016;16(1):1098. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3638-0\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1186/s12889-016-3638-0\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuan 2H, Zhu YG, Fang XY. 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JNMA. 2023;61(259):245\u0026ndash;8. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.7869\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.31729/jnma.7869\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Social support, Depression, Rumination, College students","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eObjective\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo investigate how rumination influences the relationship between depression among college students and social support, and to test the moderating effect of gender differences on this basis.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA questionnaire survey was conducted using random cluster sampling method to select college students from several colleges and universities in Jiangxi and Zhejiang regions, and SPSS 26.0 was used for regression analysis and PROCESS plug-in for the construction of a moderated mediation model.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eRumination partially mediated the association between social support and depression (indirect impact \u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.68, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01);Social support adversely predicted depression in college students (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e=-0.40, \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001); and gender moderated the direct pathway of social support on college students' depression.Compared to male college students, female students were more likely to experience depression if they had lower amounts of social support.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support influenced college students' depression through the mediation of rumination thinking and the moderation of gender.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"How social support affects depression in college students: a moderated mediating effect","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-05-14 10:30:15","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4373768/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2faec159-74f6-4b50-93ee-cfa8ea494137","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 14th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-03-06T15:23:14+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-05-14 10:30:15","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4373768","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4373768","identity":"rs-4373768","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}