Perceived social support as a moderator of depression and stress in college students

Abstract

I explored the relationships between stress, social support, and depression among Chinese college students, focusing in particular on the moderating effect of social support in the link between stress and depression. Participants were 594 college students who completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the SelfRating Depression Scale. Results indicate that stress and depression were significantly and positively correlated, social support and depression were significantly and negatively correlated, and social support significantly moderated the effect of stress on depression. In the high social support group, stress and depression were not significantly correlated, whereas in the low social support group, stress and depression were significantly correlated. In sum, both stress and social support were significantly correlated with depression, and social support moderated the effect of stress on depression among college students.