Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 14, 2026

A Multiple Integrated Social Stress Model for Psychiatric Disorders in Female C57BL/6J Mice
Published on: July 15, 2025
Parallel Mediating Roles of Anxiety and Depression in the Association Between Social Support and Post-Traumatic
Xiaoyan Liu1, Xue Wen2, Pengwei Liang1
1School of Humanities and Social Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Background:
Research confirmed that social support has an important impact on mental health, especially in traumatized individuals. Breast cancer patients who have experienced diagnosis, surgery and adjuvant treatment have distinct social support. They endured more posttraumatic stress symptoms in the course of their diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether support was correlated with posttraumatic stress symptoms among breast cancer patients in China, explore the role of emotion status (including anxious and depressive symptoms) in this relationship, and further compare the magnitude of the two mediation effects.
Methods:
A total of 612 breast cancer patients who had completed surgery and were on chemotherapy (radiotherapy) participated in this study by completing a set of questionnaires derived from a combination of the Chinese Version of Furman and Buhrmester's Network of Relationships Inventory, the Chinese version of General Anxiety Symptoms Scale, the Chinese version of Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Chinese version of Posttraumatic Stress SymptomsScale.
Results:
The results revealed that social support was significantly negatively correlated with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Structural equation modeling showed that emotion status (including anxious and depressive symptoms) mediated the relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The two indirect effects do not differ significantly.
Conclusion:
Negative emotion was one of the core responses of traumatized individuals. Improving emotion status (including anxious and depressive symptoms) in breast cancer patients may be one of the cruxes in the recovery of their posttraumatic stress symptoms. This prompts that providing more social support to breast cancer patients during treatment will relieve their anxious and depressive symptoms and thus alleviate their posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
Panic Disorder
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques V
Social Anxiety Disorder
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
Social Relationships and Well-Being

