Academic satisfaction and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: the multiple mediating roles of interpersonal relationships and subjective well-being

Previous studies have primarily investigated the individual characteristics or social environment as separate mediators in the link between academic satisfaction and depressive symptoms. However, these earlier studies overlooked the combined effects of these factors, thus resulting in limited ecological validity. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the multiple mediating of interpersonal relationships and subjective well-being (SWB) on the relationship between academic satisfaction and depressive symptoms based on the cumulative risk model and ecosystem theory. We analysed cross-sectional data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of 2020 and focused on a sample of 2413 participants aged between 11 and 18 years (mean +/- standard deviation; 14.09 +/- 2.22 years-of-age). After controlling for gender and age variables, we conducted moderation analyses using the macro-PROCESS programme models 6 in SPSS software. Analysis showed that interpersonal relationships and SWB concurrently and serially mediated the association between academic satisfaction and depressive symptoms. The multiple mediating effects accounted for 53% of the total product. In conclusion, this study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms through which academic satisfaction leads to depressive symptoms and aids in preventing and intervening in depressive symptoms in adolescents.