贵阳高校男男性行为学生社会支持、自我认同与抑郁焦虑的关联：一项横断面研究

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Health Psychology

Volume 17 - 2026 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1911298

Reviewed by

2A

2 Anonymous reviewers

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Health Psychology

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate depression and anxiety among college student men who have sex with men (MSM) and to explore their associations with social support and self-identity, with a particular focus on the mediating role of self-identity. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among college student MSM in Guiyang, China, from September 2022 to October 2023. We used a self-administered questionnaire to collect information about demographic characteristics, social support, self-identity, depression, and anxiety. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to investigate the associations among social support, self-identity, depression, and anxiety. The bootstrapping method was performed to examine the mediating role of self-identity. Results A total of 547 valid questionnaires were collected. In this study, 38.40% of the participants were depressed and 28.34% were anxious. The results revealed that social support (β=-0.110, P=0.030) and self-identity (β=-0.253, P=0.001) were negatively related with depression, whereas anxiety (β=0.161, P=0.008) was positively associated with depression. Lower social support and self-identity were linked with higher anxiety, with social support showing a β=-0.107 (P=0.017) and self-identity showing a β=-0.252 (P<0.001). Also, social support had a positive relationship with self-identity (β=0.112, P=0.004). Furthermore, the results showed that self-identity served as a mediator in the relationship between social support and depression (β=-0.028, P=0.010). Additionally, self-identity also played a mediating role in the relationship between social support and anxiety (β=-0.028, P=0.011). Conclusions College student MSM in Guiyang exhibited mild depressive symptoms and mild-to-moderate anxiety. Compared to the general MSM population in China, the prevalence rates of anxiety and depression among college student MSM were relatively lower. These findings underscore the continued need for interventions aimed at reducing depression and anxiety among college student MSM. Enhancing both social support and self-identity may represent effective strategies for mitigating anxiety and depression in this population.

Keywords

Anxiety, China, College student, Depression, Men who have sex with men, self-identity, social support

Received

17 June 2026

Accepted

23 September 2026

Copyright

© 2026 Lu, Qin, Chen, Ma, Wang, Yan and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence:

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.