# The relationship between school belonging and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students: a moderated mediation model

## TL;DR

This study examines how school belonging affects depressive symptoms in Chinese college students, with self-consistency and emotional intelligence playing key roles.

## Contribution

The study introduces a moderated mediation model linking school belonging, self-consistency, emotional intelligence, and depressive symptoms.

## Key findings

- School belonging, self-consistency, and depressive symptoms are significantly correlated.
- Self-consistency partially mediates the relationship between school belonging and depressive symptoms.
- Emotional intelligence moderates the mediation model's first half in both low and high emotional intelligence groups.

## Abstract

To explore the relationship and mechanism between school belonging and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.

A total of 440 Chinese college students were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale (PSSM-CR), the Short Version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), the Self-Consistency and Congruence Scale (SCCS), the Schutte Self-report Emotional Intelligence Scale (SSEIS-C).

(1) School belonging, self-consistency and congruence, and depressive symptoms were significantly correlated (r = −0.53 to 0.74, p < 0.01); (2) Self-consistency and congruence played a partial mediating role in the relationship between school belonging and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students; (3) Emotional intelligence significantly moderated the first half of the mediating model: the first half of the mediating model was significant in both the low emotional intelligence group and the high emotional intelligence group.

Self-consistency and congruence and emotional intelligence play a moderated mediation role in the relationship between school belonging and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.