Perceived Social Support and Experiential Avoidance in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Individual Relative Deprivation and Subjective Social Class

Abstract

Based on the integration of ecological systems theory and the risk and protective factor model, the current study tested whether individual relative deprivation mediated the association between perceived social support and adolescents’ experiential avoidance and whether this mediation model was moderated by subjective social class. A sample of 582 senior high school students in China participated in the current survey. The results indicated that perceived social support was negatively related to the students’ experiential avoidance. Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of perceived social support on experiential avoidance, via individual relative deprivation. Moreover, the mediation effect of individual relative deprivation was moderated by subjective social class. Specifically, the negative relationship between perceived social support and individual relative deprivation, and the direct relationship between perceived social support and experiential avoidance were stronger for adolescents with low subjective social class. In contrast, the positive relationship between individual relative deprivation and experiential avoidance was stronger for adolescents with high subjective social class.

Keywords:

• Perceived social support
• experiential avoidance
• individual relative deprivation
• subjective social class

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The Education Reform Project of Henan University- HDXJJG2021-053. The Key Research Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research, Ministry of Education, China- 13JZDW010.

Notes on contributors

Fen Dou

Fen Dou is a PhD candidate at the School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University. Her research interests include mindset/implicit theories, aggression, emotion, cognitive neuroscience, mental health.

Ke Xu

Ke Xu is an associate professor at the School of Management, Shanghai University. Her research interests include organizational behavior and management psychology.

Qianfeng Li

Qianfeng Li is an associate professor at the School of Psychology, Hainan Normal University. His research interests include health psychology and behavioral health intervention.

Fangzhu Qi

Fangzhu Qi is an associate professor at the School of Psychology, Henan University. Her research interests include cooperation and decision making.

Minghui Wang

Minghui Wang is a professor at the School of Psychology, Henan University. His research interests include management psychology and human resource management.