The Relationship Between Social Support and Mental Health of Vietnamese Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Role of Resilience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/20646Keywords:
social support, mental health, resilience, undergraduate students, VietnamAbstract
Students’ mental health is a critical issue that significantly affects their academic performance and overall quality of life. This study aimed to examine the relationships of social support, resilience and mental health challenges – specifically stress, anxiety and depression – among Vietnamese undergraduate students. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, with a convenience sample of 1 033 participants. The data were collected using a self-report questionnaire administered via Google Forms and analysed using SPSS version 26.0. The results indicated that social support was significantly and positively associated with resilience, accounting for 30% of the variance in students’ resilience (β = .300, p < .01). In addition, social support indicated a significant negative association with depression, explaining 12.5% of the variance in depression levels (β = −.125, p < .01). However, social support was not significantly related to stress and anxiety (β = .000 and β = .013, respectively; p > .05). Resilience had a significant negative effect on stress (β = −.089, p < 0.01) and depression (β = −.079, p < 0.05), but not on anxiety in students (β = −.005, p > 0.05). Resilience mediated the relationship between social support and stress, but did not mediate the relationships between social support and anxiety or depression. These results enhance understanding of the interplay among social support, resilience and mental health challenges (stress, anxiety and depression) among university students. The results also underscore the importance of promoting positive mental health strategies among undergraduate students which strengthen social support and resilience.
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