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. 2025 Jan 17;13(1):48.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02360-5.

The effect and mechanism of mutual aid on the subjective well-being of participants under the COVID-19 pandemic

Aiping Xu  1 , Yiwei Zhang  2
Affiliations

The effect and mechanism of mutual aid on the subjective well-being of participants under the COVID-19 pandemic

Aiping Xu et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to the emergence of various forms of mutual aid. While prior research has demonstrated that mutual aid can contribute to participants' subjective well-being, the majority of these studies are qualitative and lack clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Using a questionnaire survey and structural equation modeling, this study finds that mutual aid significantly enhances the subjective well-being of participants in China. Bootstrap chained mediation analysis shows that this is mainly because mutual aid not only provides material resources to participants but also helps to expand their social networks, thereby enhancing their self-esteem and self-efficacy, and ultimately improving their subjective well-being. In the chain mediation mechanism, the total effect of social network is significantly higher than that of material resources. Our study identifies social psychological mechanisms by which mutual aid acts on participant's subjective well-being, and it has important implications for community governance.

Keywords: COVID-19; Material resources; Mutual aid; Social network; Subjective well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by Academic Morals and Ethics Committee of Sanda University (Reference number: 2022007). The participants were informed about the research aim and methods before filling out the questionnaire anonymously. Informed consent was obtained from all participants of the study. The survey conforms to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual framework of mutual aid acting on subjective well-being
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Results of the structural equation model. Note: Model shows unstandardized path coefficients and standard error in parentheses; Solid lines indicate significant path coefficients, while dashed lines indicate insignificant path coefficients. ***p < 0.001,**p < 0.01,*p < 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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