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Revisiting the longitudinal relationships among depressive symptoms, emotion regulation, and perceived social support: evidence from a random intercept cross-lagged panel model

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: The bidirectional relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived social support has been widely reported, and emotion regulation is considered an important mediating mechanism between the two. However, prior studies have not rigorously distinguished stable between-person differences from within-person dynamic changes. The present study applied a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) to examine the bidirectional relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived social support at the within-person level, as well as the mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Methods: A total of 1,390 Chinese college students contributed data to a three-wave study with three-month intervals. RI-CLPM was used to separate between-person and within-person effects. Results: After controlling for between-person differences, one indirect pathway was significant at the within-person level: elevated depressive symptoms at T1 predicted decreased cognitive reappraisal at T2, which in turn predicted reduced perceived social support at T3. Cognitive reappraisal at T2 also negatively predicted depressive symptoms at T3. The direct bidirectional paths between depressive symptoms and perceived social support, as well as all indirect paths through expressive suppression, were not significant. Conclusions: Cognitive reappraisal may play a role in the erosion of perceived social support associated with depressive symptoms. These findings support further testing of whether reappraisal training can help preserve perceived social support among individuals with elevated depressive symptoms.

Source: International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2026.100733