Moderating Roles of Social Support in the Association between Hope and Life Satisfaction among Ethnic Minority College Students in China

Abstract

Ethnic minority college students in China are Chinese students who migrate from ethnic minority-dominant areas to Han-dominant areas to attend college. Acculturative stress would lead to maladjustments for ethnic minority college students in China, such as low levels of life satisfaction. To help improve the life satisfaction of these students, this study adopted resilience theory to explore the beneficial effects of hope and social support and their influencing mechanisms. The participants included 362 ethnic minority college students in Beijing, China, and a questionnaire method was used. The results indicated that Han social support had a promotive effect on life satisfaction, while hope did not have a promotive effect on life satisfaction. Moreover, Han social support moderated the relationship between hope and life satisfaction. Specifically, the effect of hope on life satisfaction was stronger under the condition of a higher level of Han social support compared with those under a lower level of Han social support. In conclusion, Han social support can play a promotive effect individually, while hope only affected life satisfaction when a high level of Han social support existed. Han social support should be strengthened to improve the life satisfaction among ethnic minority college students in China.