The impact of perceived social support on anxiety and depression: the chain mediating effect of internet addiction and insomnia.

Abstract

Background: Anxiety and depression as important factors affecting college students' physical and mental health have received more and more social attention. Though a growing literature have confirmed significant correlations among perceived social support, Internet addiction, insomnia, anxiety and depressive symptom, there is a paucity of evidence focused on the sequential mediating roles of Internet addiction and insomnia in these relationships. This empirical study attempted to investigate the chain mediating role that Internet addiction and insomnia played together in the relationship between perceived social support and negative emotions in the population of college students.

Methods: 3484 undergraduate students aged 18-23 were recruited with cluster sampling methods and investigated by the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Internet Addiction Test, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 and Amos 24.0.

Results: Perceived social support was negatively correlated with Internet addiction (r=-0.156, p < 0.01), insomnia (r=-0.217, p < 0.01), anxiety (r=-0.251, p < 0.01), and depression (r=-0.276, p < 0.01). In contrast, Internet addiction was positively associated with insomnia (r = 0.441, p < 0.01), anxiety (r = 0.474, p < 0.01), and depression (r = 0.518, p < 0.01). Furthermore, insomnia was positively linked with anxiety (r = 0.658, p < 0.01) and depression (r = 0.707, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Both Internet addiction and insomnia partially mediated the relationship between social support and negative emotions among college students. Internet addiction and insomnia played a chain mediating role in the relationship between perceived social support and negative emotions. These findings highlight the importance of enhancing social support, promoting healthy Internet use and improving sleep quality in interventions targeting mental health in young adults.