A moderated mediation model: depressive symptom, loneliness and social support among immigrant and Portuguese population

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the mediating effect of loneliness in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among Portuguese and immigrants residing in Portugal. Moreover, the study aims to explore the moderating effect of population group, Portuguese sample and immigrant sample, in this mediation model. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from a diverse sample of employed Portuguese and immigrant from May 2023 to January 2024. Participants completed the UCLA loneliness scales, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The SPSS programme with PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 15) was used to test the hypothesis regarding the mediation and moderation effect. Findings The bootstrap analysis found that loneliness played a significant mediation role in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms among Portuguese and immigrant populations. Moreover, the study found that the population groups played a significant moderating effect on the negative indirect effect of social support on depressive symptoms through loneliness. This effect was significantly higher in magnitude among the Portuguese sample. Originality/value This research advances the authors’ understanding of social support among Portuguese and immigrant populations while providing suggestions for interventions tackling loneliness and depressive symptoms.