Chain mediating role of hope and resilience in the relationship between perceived social support and loneliness among Chinese college students during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

Background The prevalence of loneliness among college students has elevated during the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Thus, it is essential to clarify the factors that contribute to loneliness and seek out measures to reduce the influence of these factors on college students. Objective To explore the mediating mechanisms underlying the association between perceived social support and loneliness among Chinese college students, and the multiple mediating roles of hope and resilience in this relationship. Method This online survey was conducted through the Wenjuanxing platform on March 3-15, 2020. A total of 1,627 effective questionnaires were received and the response rate was 94.3%. The UCLA loneliness scale, the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Herth Hope Index and Resilience Scale, and the scale of demographic variables were used for gathering data. Hierarchical multiple regression and the bootstrap method were used to explore and examine the chain mediation model. Results The prevalence of loneliness among undergraduates was 55.2% (898/1627) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there were significant differences in loneliness in gender (t = 4.131, p < 0.001) and sleeping duration (t = 3.971, p < 0.001). A significant chain mediation model was obtained in which college students' loneliness was affected by perceived social support through 3 different pathways: the mediating role of hope (42.28% of total effect), the mediating role of resilience (6.44% of total effect), and the chain mediating role of both hope, and resilience (4.91% of total effect). The total mediation effect was - 0.266, which accounted for 53.52% of the total effect. Conclusion Perceived social support, hope and resilience could relieve the feeling of loneliness effectively among Chinese college students. Hope and resilience play the chain mediation role in the association between perceived social support and loneliness. The psychological interventions about enhancing social support and improving hope and resilience may help to alleviate loneliness during the pandemic of COVID-19.