Social anxiety and the relationship between social support and hope of left-behind children in rural area / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#This study aims at discussing the relationship between social anxiety and level of hope among left-behind children,the mediator role of perceived social support, and to provide objective reference for mental health education and positive psychological quality improvement.@*Methods@#From September to October 2018,Social Anxiety Scale for Children,Hope Scale and Perceived Social Support Scale were administered among 797 rural left-behind children in Hunan Province of China. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between variables. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling were used to assess whether perceived social support played a mediator role in social anxiety and hope of rural left-behind children.@*Results@#Social anxiety (6.84±4.28) was negatively correlated with perceived social support (54.18±14.48) and hope (23.80±5.77) (r=-0.23, -0.19, P<0.01). Perceived social support was positively correlated with hope (r=0.49, P<0.01). Perceived social support played a mediator role in the relationship between social anxiety and rural left-behind children’s level of hope.@*Conclusion@#This study has indicated the positive influence of perceived social support on the level of hope and buffering role on the adverse impact of social anxiety. More activities to improve social support for rural left-behind children need to be carried out during the process of education and mental health.