Anxiety, a prevalent and detrimental mental disorder, usually emerges in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Emotion regulation strategies, namely expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, share a close relation with the onset and maintenance of anxiety. Yet the relation between anxiety and emotion regulation strategies remains controversial and warrants further clarification. The generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) was used to measure the anxiety disorders and the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) was utilized to assess the use of two emotion regulation strategies. In study 1, a total of 2201 college students completed two measurement waves (females = 1358, 61.70%, Mage = 18.37). The cross-lagged model was conducted to identify the directional relation between two emotion regulation strategies and anxiety. In study 2, 3150 college students (females = 1562, 49.59%, Mage = 19.73) completed the measurements. The moderated network model was utilized to clarify the influence of emotion regulation strategy on anxiety from the symptomatic perspective. In study 1, the results of the cross-lagged model suggested that the level of anxiety in wave 2 could be negatively predicted by the cognitive reappraisal (b = −0.552, p < .01) but not by expressive suppression (b = 0.035, p = .174) in wave 1. In study 2, the results of the moderated network indicated that cognitive reappraisal could moderate the interaction between “Excessive worry”-“Irritability”, “Nervousness” -“Uncontrollable worry”, “Trouble relaxing”-“Nervousness” (GAD1) ,and “Restlessness” -“Irritability”. The current study confirmed cognitive reappraisal could serve as a protective factor for anxiety by diminishing the positive relation between “Excessive worry”-“Irritability” and “Nervousness” -“Uncontrollable worry”. This finding may guide clinical workers to develop more targeted interventions using cognitive reappraisal to alleviate anxiety symptoms.

The phenomenon of online perfectionistic self-presentation (PSP) poses significant risks for young people, contributing to heightened anxiety, depression, and social isolation as individuals strive to project idealized versions of themselves on social media. This pressure to conform to unrealistic standards often leads to detrimental psychological outcomes, necessitating an understanding of the factors that drive such behaviors. This study examines the relationship between relatedness need frustration (RNF)—a psychological state arising from feelings of social exclusion or disconnection—and online PSP among college students, alongside the moderating effect of family socioeconomic status (SES) and the mediating role of social comparison on social media. Utilizing a sample of 1,924 college students aged 17 to 26 years (M = 18.59, SD = 0.75, 65% females), we assessed RNF, PSP, social comparison on social media, SES, and demographic information through questionnaires. The results revealed that (a) RNF was positively associated with online PSP; (b) SES moderates the relationship between RNF and PSP, with individuals from low and average SES families exhibiting a significant positive correlation between RNF and PSP, while those from high SES families do not; (c) the moderating effect of SES occurs through the mediating process of social comparison. These findings highlight the psychological mechanisms underlying unhealthy self-presentation behaviors on social media and emphasize the need to address socioeconomic disparities in mental health interventions, promoting healthier social media engagement among youth.

Objective Individuals under community correction are a high-risk population for anxiety and depression, which frequently co-occur. However, the symptom network structures of anxiety, depression, and their comorbidity in this population remained unexplored. This study addresses this gap using a network analysis approach. Methods A total of 818 Chinese individuals under community correction (134 females, 684 males; over 95% aged 18–60 years) completed the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Separate symptom networks for anxiety and depression were estimated to identify central symptoms using expected influence (EI), while a comorbidity network was estimated to identify bridge symptoms using bridge EI and bridge betweenness. Directed acyclic graph (DAG) analyses were then conducted to identify potential trigger symptoms and further clarify the roles of central and bridge symptoms. Results A total of 36.7% and 13.1% of participants reported depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively, with 11.0% exhibiting comorbidity. In the anxiety network, “panic” (SAS-03) was the central symptom (highest EI) and the key trigger symptom in the DAG. In the depression network, “emptiness” (SDS-18) was the central symptom, while “fatigue” (SDS-10) was the key trigger. In the comorbidity network, “insomnia” (SAS-19), “sleep disturbance” (SDS-04), and “fatigue” were identified as bridge symptoms. In the comorbidity DAG, “fatigue” acted as a key trigger, facilitating the transmission from depression to anxiety via “sleep disturbance” and “insomnia.” Conclusion The study preliminarily examined the phenomenon and mechanisms of anxiety, depression, and their comorbidity among individuals under community correction, providing new insights for intervention planning.

Depression, as a common mental disorder, has a high prevalence rate among college students and seriously influences their quality of life and social functi