Effects of materialism and perceived social support on the mental health of college students

Abstract

We aimed to examine the role of materialism and perceived social support on the mental health of college students. Participants were 988 college students from Guangdong Province, China (female = 55.77 %; mean age =19.70 years, SD = 1.56 years). They completed surveys on materialism, perceived social support, and mental health. The results showed that there were significant correlations between materialism, social support, and mental health. Not only did materialism directly affect the mental health of college students, but also indirectly through perceived social support. From these findings, student counselling and development services should seek to develop students’ values of introspection and benevolence as a counterbalance to materialism, thereby also mitigating the risk for mental health disorders.