Background The psychological crises associated with poor supervisor–student relationship among graduate students have raised growing public concerns. In the Chinese graduate education context, supervisors play a central and highly influential role in students’ academic development, which makes the supervisor–student relationship particularly critical for their psychological well-being. This study examined the association between supervisor–student relationship and anxiety, the mediating role of general self-efficacy, and the moderating role of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese graduate students. Methods A total of 1233 Chinese graduate students (36.6% female; Mage = 24.19, SD = 2.21, range = 20–40 years) participated in the study and completed measures of Teacher–Student Relationship Quality Questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. All measurement instruments demonstrated good reliability and validity in the present sample. The data were analyzed using a moderated model with SPSS 25.0 and the supplemental PROCESS macro 4.2. Results Supervisor–student relationship was significantly negatively associated with anxiety (β = −0.364, p < 0.001), and mediation analyses indicated that general self-efficacy partially mediated this association (indirect effect = − 0.152, 95% CI = [− 0.192, − 0.115]). Moderated mediation analysis further revealed that attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help buffered the adverse effects of supervisor–student relationship on anxiety (β = 0.106, p < 0.001), as well as the correlation between supervisor–student relationship and general self-efficacy (β = −0.119, p < 0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrates that the quality of the supervisor–student relationship is closely associated with graduate students’ anxiety and that this link operates partly through general self-efficacy. Positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help weakened the association between poor supervisor–student relationship and anxiety and mitigated the decline in general self-efficacy. These findings clarify how interpersonal and psychological factors jointly shape anxiety and suggest that strengthening supportive supervisor–student relationship and fostering favorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help may be beneficial for safeguarding the mental health of graduate students.

Supervisor–student relationship and anxiety among graduate students: a moderated mediation model

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2026年2月6日

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Lan Luo,
Ronghua Wen,
Xingyu Ding,
Shiping Luo,
Zhaosheng Luo

摘要

Background

The psychological crises associated with poor supervisor–student relationship among graduate students have raised growing public concerns. In the Chinese graduate education context, supervisors play a central and highly influential role in students’ academic development, which makes the supervisor–student relationship particularly critical for their psychological well-being. This study examined the association between supervisor–student relationship and anxiety, the mediating role of general self-efficacy, and the moderating role of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese graduate students.

Methods

A total of 1233 Chinese graduate students (36.6% female; M_age = 24.19, SD = 2.21, range = 20–40 years) participated in the study and completed measures of Teacher–Student Relationship Quality Questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. All measurement instruments demonstrated good reliability and validity in the present sample. The data were analyzed using a moderated model with SPSS 25.0 and the supplemental PROCESS macro 4.2.

Results

Supervisor–student relationship was significantly negatively associated with anxiety (β = −0.364, p < 0.001), and mediation analyses indicated that general self-efficacy partially mediated this association (indirect effect = − 0.152, 95% CI = [− 0.192, − 0.115]). Moderated mediation analysis further revealed that attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help buffered the adverse effects of supervisor–student relationship on anxiety (β = 0.106, p < 0.001), as well as the correlation between supervisor–student relationship and general self-efficacy (β = −0.119, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that the quality of the supervisor–student relationship is closely associated with graduate students’ anxiety and that this link operates partly through general self-efficacy. Positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help weakened the association between poor supervisor–student relationship and anxiety and mitigated the decline in general self-efficacy. These findings clarify how interpersonal and psychological factors jointly shape anxiety and suggest that strengthening supportive supervisor–student relationship and fostering favorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help may be beneficial for safeguarding the mental health of graduate students.