Effects of Community Environmental Governance on Urban Mental Health: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta, China

Objectives: Amid accelerating urbanization, digitalization, and population aging, mental health issues have become increasingly salient among urban community residents. This study aims to examine how community environmental governance influences mental health (MH) by conceptualizing the community environment as comprising social capital (SC) and environmental perception (EP). Aging anxiety (AA) and digital usage tendency (DUT) are introduced as psychosocial background variables to analyze MH pathways under multifactor influences. Methods: Using data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this study constructed a structural equation model (SEM) based on 362 urban residents from the Yangtze River Delta. Direct and indirect relationships among the key variables were assessed through path analysis. Results: Five statistically significant paths were identified. AA directly reduced MH (β = −0.328, p < 0.001). DUT negatively affected SC (β = −0.173, p < 0.01) and EP (β = −0.212, p < 0.001). SC positively influenced EP (β = 0.260, p < 0.001), and EP, in turn, positively affected MH (β = 0.170, p < 0.05). Mediation analysis confirmed three significant indirect pathways: DUT → EP → MH; DUT → SC → EP → MH; and SC → EP → MH. Other paths were not significant. Conclusions: The study clarifies how community environmental governance shapes urban residents’ MH and highlights the mediating roles of SC and EP. MH reflects the positive interplay among social capital, environmental experience, and individual state; a supportive community environment is conducive to improved MH. As stressors arising from societal transformation, AA and DUT weaken MH via direct and indirect routes, respectively. Policy implications include positioning community environmental governance as a key entry point, promoting coordinated improvements in the community environment, and strengthening targeted psychosocial support for populations with elevated aging anxiety or digital dependence to provide sustained, multilayered support for urban mental health.