Examining social context and the pathways to mental wellness in young adults during social movement: A parallel mediation analysis

Background: Good family relationships are important for mental health. However, the mechanism linking family perceptions to mental wellness during political and social turmoil remains unclear. This study aimed to examine whether psychological and social factors could protect university students from detrimental mental health conditions in a time of social chaos. 

Methods: Participants included young adults (n = 1874, mean age = 22.19 years) who had been enrolled in Hong Kong local tertiary intuitions during Hong Kong's 2019 social movement. An online survey assessing various conditions, including family satisfaction, social support, personal resilience, negative moods, sense of school belonging, and mental health conditions before and during the movement, was administered to these students. Mediation analyses were performed to examine the role of negative affect, support from family, and school belongingness as mediators of the association between family satisfaction and mental health condition during the movement overall and by resilience subgroups. 

Results: Higher levels of satisfaction with family relationships before the onset of movement was associated with lower levels of negative affect and higher levels of support from family and school belongingness during the movement, in turn benefiting the student's mental health. The links of family satisfaction and school belongingness with mental wellness were particularly strong among low-resilient students. 

Limitations: Mediation analysis using retrospective survey data 

Conclusions: Family conditions would interact with personal resilience to influence mental health status during social turmoil. The findings underscore the importance of early interventions particularly for those students facing family difficulties to enhance their social chaos and emergency preparedness. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.