Perceived social support and post-traumatic growth 12 years after the Wenchuan earthquake: a moderated mediation of belief in a just world and gender

The current study sought to explore the mediating effect of belief in a just world (BJW) in the link between perceived social support (PSS) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) and analyzed the moderating effect of gender among child and adolescent survivors 12 years after the Chinese Wenchuan earthquake. In a span of five months, 515 participants aged 18 to 30 (96.5% of the 561 participants surveyed) were selected and measured using the following scales: Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Just World Belief Scale, and Post-traumatic Growth Inventory. Correlation analysis showed that PSS was positively correlated with PTG. Mediation analysis suggested that BJW partially mediated the association between PSS and PTG. Moderated mediation analysis indicated that gender moderated the link between PSS and BJW. Specifically, the link between PSS and BJW was stronger for male survivors compared to female peers. Overall, child and adolescent survivors with high PSS experienced higher levels of PTG. The moderated mediation model provides a better understanding of how PSS, BJW, and gender work together to affect PTG. The findings of this study highlight the long-term psychological consequences of severe traumatic events for child and adolescent survivors. Furthermore, we discuss the relevance of PSS to those psychological consequences and their implications for survivors following a natural disaster in early life.