The Maintenance and Collapse of Sense of Order: A Longitudinal Study of System Justification Mechanisms Among Chinese...

Against the background of increasing competition and expanding inequality in modern society, individuals are motivated to maintain the legitimacy and stability of existing social systems. Within this process, meritocratic beliefs, trust, and depression together constitute a dynamic mechanism through which individuals maintain psychological stability during system justification processes. However, most existing studies examining the relationships among these three variables have relied on cross-sectional designs or traditional cross-lagged analyses, making it difficult to accurately capture their longitudinal psychological dynamics.

The present study aimed to systematically examine the longitudinal predictive relationships among meritocratic beliefs, trust, and depression among Chinese young adults using multiwave longitudinal data.

The data used in the present study were derived from the three-wave longitudinal surveys conducted by the China Family Panel Studies in 2018, 2020, and 2022. After screening for missing values and age restrictions, the final sample included 1489 valid participants between the ages of 14 and 35. Data analysis was conducted using R Studio and the RI-CLPM.

At the level of stable between-person traits, higher trust and stronger meritocratic beliefs were both significantly associated with lower long-term baseline levels of depression. Trust and meritocratic beliefs also demonstrated a significant positive association. At the level of within-person dynamic fluctuations, trust at the previous wave significantly and positively predicted subsequent meritocratic beliefs, whereas depression at the previous wave significantly and negatively predicted subsequent meritocratic beliefs. Meritocratic beliefs did not significantly predict later changes in either trust or depression.