Research Article
Open Access
Understanding Social Support and Depression among College Students in Ethnic Areas: the Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Basic Psychological Needs
1
School of Education and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
* Corresponding Author:
Meng Su,
[email protected]
Volume 1, Issue 1
2026
Received: 16 December 2025
Revised: 01 January 2026
Accepted: 13 May 2026
Published: 12 August 2026
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CC BY 4.0 License
Article Information
Published in
Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education
Volume/Issue
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026
Pages
31-41
Abstract
To explore the relationship and mediating mechanisms among perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs among college students in ethnic regions, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of 968 college students using the Perceived Social Support Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Cognitive Reappraisal subscale), Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The aim was to analyze the impact and underlying mechanisms of perceived social support on their depression. The results indicate that: (1) there is a significant pairwise relationship between perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs; (2) Cognitive reappraisal and basic psychological needs mediated the relationship through three distinct pathways: the independent mediating pathway of cognitive reappraisal, the independent mediating pathway of basic psychological needs, and the chain mediating pathway in which the two act in sequence. In summary, perceived social support can effectively alleviate depression by increasing the frequency of cognitive reappraisal among college students in ethnic regions and promoting the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs.
Keywords
perceived social support
depression
cognitive reappraisal
basic psychological needs
ethnic areas
Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.
Funding
This work was supported without any funding.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
AI Use Statement
The authors declare that no generative AI was used in the preparation of this manuscript.
Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
This study was determined to be exempt from full ethical review by the Academic Ethics Committee of Southwest Minzu University, as it involved anonymous questionnaire data
collection with minimal risk to participants. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection, and participants were informed of their right to withdraw at any time without consequence.
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APA Style
Su, M., & Wu, L. (2026). Understanding Social Support and Depression among College Students in Ethnic Areas: the Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Basic Psychological Needs. Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education, 1(1), 31-41. https://doi.org/10.62762/JDIE.2025.447149
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TY - JOUR AU - Su, Meng AU - Wu, Liwei PY - 2026 DA - 2026/08/12 TI - Understanding Social Support and Depression among College Students in Ethnic Areas: the Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Basic Psychological Needs JO - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education T2 - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education JF - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 31 EP - 41 DO - 10.62762/JDIE.2025.447149 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JDIE.2025.447149 KW - perceived social support KW - depression KW - cognitive reappraisal KW - basic psychological needs KW - ethnic areas AB - To explore the relationship and mediating mechanisms among perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs among college students in ethnic regions, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of 968 college students using the Perceived Social Support Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Cognitive Reappraisal subscale), Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The aim was to analyze the impact and underlying mechanisms of perceived social support on their depression. The results indicate that: (1) there is a significant pairwise relationship between perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs; (2) Cognitive reappraisal and basic psychological needs mediated the relationship through three distinct pathways: the independent mediating pathway of cognitive reappraisal, the independent mediating pathway of basic psychological needs, and the chain mediating pathway in which the two act in sequence. In summary, perceived social support can effectively alleviate depression by increasing the frequency of cognitive reappraisal among college students in ethnic regions and promoting the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. SN - pending PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
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@article{Su2026Understand,
author = {Meng Su and Liwei Wu},
title = {Understanding Social Support and Depression among College Students in Ethnic Areas: the Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Basic Psychological Needs},
journal = {Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education},
year = {2026},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {31-41},
doi = {10.62762/JDIE.2025.447149},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JDIE.2025.447149},
abstract = {To explore the relationship and mediating mechanisms among perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs among college students in ethnic regions, this study conducted a questionnaire survey of 968 college students using the Perceived Social Support Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Cognitive Reappraisal subscale), Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The aim was to analyze the impact and underlying mechanisms of perceived social support on their depression. The results indicate that: (1) there is a significant pairwise relationship between perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, and basic psychological needs; (2) Cognitive reappraisal and basic psychological needs mediated the relationship through three distinct pathways: the independent mediating pathway of cognitive reappraisal, the independent mediating pathway of basic psychological needs, and the chain mediating pathway in which the two act in sequence. In summary, perceived social support can effectively alleviate depression by increasing the frequency of cognitive reappraisal among college students in ethnic regions and promoting the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs.},
keywords = {perceived social support, depression, cognitive reappraisal, basic psychological needs, ethnic areas},
issn = {pending},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
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