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

Objective To explore the relationship and mechanism between school belonging and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. Methods 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). Results (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. Conclusion 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.