The relationship among social support, self-esteem, affect balance and loneliness in individuals with substance use disorders in China.

This study analyzed the potential mediating role of self-esteem and affect balance on the relationship between social support and loneliness. Respondents were 426 substabce use disorders from the Shifosi and Dalianshan rehab facilities in China who had completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Scales, and UCLA Loneliness Scale. The results indicated that self-esteem and affect balance fully mediated the relationship between perceived social support and loneliness and all the paths, ranging from social support through self-esteem and affect balance to loneliness, were significant. Finally, we analyzed possible approaches to decreasing individuals with substance use disorders' loneliness.