Spiritual emptiness and depression among university students: the roles of perceived support and age

Spiritual emptiness and depression are becoming increasingly prevalent among Chinese university students. Perceived social support plays a pivotal role in mitigating both spiritual emptiness and depression. This study investigates interrelationships among these three variables within a sample of Chinese university students.

A total of 1,266 university students in China, encompassing all gender identities and aged 18-30, completed a questionnaire containing the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Multidimensional Sense of Emptiness Scale (MSES), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ- 9). These instruments measured perceived social support, spiritual emptiness, and depression, respectively. The Chinese version of the MSES was validated, and regression analyses and path analyses were performed.

The results demonstrated good reliability and validity of the MSES for assessing spiritual emptiness among Chinese university students, supporting its original three-factor structure. The findings revealed a relatively high incidence of depressive symptoms (26.5%) among the participants. Perceived social support was significantly and negatively correlated with both spiritual emptiness and depression. Additionally, spiritual emptiness partially mediated the relationship between perceived support and depression, while age was found to moderate this relationship.

These results suggest that supportive interventions targeting spiritual emptiness and depression should be provided to university students to mitigate these challenges, especially for older students.