The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Adults Aged 35–60 Years: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the serial multiple mediating effects of subjective well-being and life satisfaction between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35–60 years. According to the 2018 China Family Panel Study (CFPS), we finally selected 10,609 respondents (5202 females, and 5407 males) aged 35–60 years old as samples for the study. Correlation analysis was carried out to examine the relationship among job satisfaction, subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Linear regression models were established to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Serial multiple mediation analysis was conducted by the SPSS macro PROCESS program. The results suggested that job satisfaction was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35–60 years. Subjective well-being and life satisfaction mediated the relationships between them, respectively. Furthermore, job satisfaction also had indirect impacts on depressive symptoms through the serial mediating effects of subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The findings revealed that increasing job satisfaction could decrease depressive symptoms through promoting subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The study may offer some meaningful implications for improving the mental health and reducing the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese adults aged 35–60 years.