Getting by with a little help from friends and family: mediation model between loneliness and depressive symptoms amongst Portuguese students

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse the mediating effect of friends and family as sources of perceived social support in the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data sample consisted of 733 university students from January to May 2023. Participants completed the UCLA loneliness scales, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The SPSS programme with PROCESS macro (Model 6) was used to test the hypothesis regarding the mediation effect.FindingsThe bootstrap analysis found that friends as a source of social support mediated the relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms. Similarly, loneliness had a significant indirect effect on depressive symptoms through the mediation of family as a source of social support. Moreover, it was found that the relationships of friends and family as sources of social support mediated the association of the aforementioned variables.Originality/valueThis research advances our understanding of social support sources from friends and family amongst university students whilst providing suggestions for interventions tackling loneliness and depressive symptoms in a university setting.