The relationship between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms in Chinese men: a moderated multiple mediation model

Previous studies have primarily investigated the individual characteristics or social environment as separate mediators in the link between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms. However, these earlier studies overlooked the combined effects of these factors, thus resulting in limited ecological validity. Furthermore, these studies were mainly focused on women or the general population, with comparatively less attention given to men. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the multiple mediating and moderating effects of subjective social status and marital satisfaction on the relationship between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms based on the cumulative risk model and ecosystem theory. We analyzed cross-sectional data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of 2020 and focused on a sample of 7524 male participants aged between 18 and 86 years (mean +/- standard deviation; 48.21 +/- 13.18 years-of-age). After controlling for health status, household registration and age group variables, we conducted mediation and moderation analyses using the macro-PROCESS program models 6 and 88 in SPSS software. Analysis showed that subjective social status and marital satisfaction concurrently and serially mediated the association between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms. The multiple mediating effects accounted for 25% of the total product. Moreover, government employment moderated the mediating effects of subjective social status (0 = -0.23, p = 0.024) and marital satisfaction (0 = 0.22, p = 0.005). In conclusion, this study provides an enhanced understanding of how job satisfaction contributes to depressive symptoms and offers significant insights into the prevention and intervention of depressive symptoms among adult Chinese men.