Yang Lei, Zhang Yunbing, Zhang Dongjun, Shen Lujun, Feng Hui
School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, China.
Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jun 2;25(1):1355. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21994-z.
In recent years, involution and lying flat have become popular in China. Involution is defined as the phenomenon in which people are actively or passively involved in irrational competition for limited social resources. Lying flat refers to the state in which people choose to give up their efforts and passively escape in the face of social pressure and continuous competition. Should involution lead to lying flat in college students? This study aimed to provide empirical support for examining the potential mechanism between active/passive involution and lying flat.
A cross-sectional survey of 1003 college students was conducted in Henan Province, China. Participants completed the Involution Behavior Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale and Lying Flat Tendency Scale through Sojump platform. Correlation and mediation models were tested using SPSS 24.0 and PROCESS macro.
The association between passive involution and lying flat was not only mediated through perceived stress and anxiety separately but also sequentially mediated through perceived stress and anxiety (Passive involution→ Perceived stress→ Lying flat: effect size = 0.075, 95% CI [0.042,0.113]; Passive involution→ Anxiety→ lying flat: effect size = 0.014, 95% CI [0.000, 0.031]; Passive involution→ Perceived stress→ Anxiety→ lying flat: effect size = 0.019, 95% CI [0.000, 0.039]). Active involution not only directly predicts lying flat but also indirectly predicts it through perceived stress (direct effect size = -0.301, 95% CI [-0.359, -0.242]; indirect effect size = -0.035, 95% CI [-0.055, -0.017]).
The results reveal the influence of active/passive involution on college students' lying flat and the mediating role of perceived stress and anxiety. The findings can provide new insights into the relationship between involution and lying flat, as well as helping students better adapt to academic learning.
近年来，“内卷”和“躺平”在中国流行起来。内卷被定义为人们主动或被动地参与对有限社会资源的非理性竞争的现象。躺平指的是人们面对社会压力和持续竞争时选择放弃努力并被动逃避的状态。大学生中内卷是否会导致躺平？本研究旨在为检验主动/被动内卷与躺平之间的潜在机制提供实证支持。
在中国河南省对1003名大学生进行了横断面调查。参与者通过问卷星平台完成了内卷行为量表、感知压力量表、广泛性焦虑障碍-7量表和躺平倾向量表。使用SPSS 24.0和PROCESS宏检验相关和中介模型。
被动内卷与躺平之间的关联不仅分别通过感知压力和焦虑介导，还依次通过感知压力和焦虑介导（被动内卷→感知压力→躺平：效应量=0.075，95%置信区间[0.042,0.113]；被动内卷→焦虑→躺平：效应量=0.014，95%置信区间[0.000,0.031]；被动内卷→感知压力→焦虑→躺平：效应量=0.019，95%置信区间[0.000,0.039]）。主动内卷不仅直接预测躺平，还通过感知压力间接预测躺平（直接效应量=-0.301，95%置信区间[-0.359,-0.242]；间接效应量=-0.035，95%置信区间[-0.055,-0.017]）。
结果揭示了主动/被动内卷对大学生躺平的影响以及感知压力和焦虑的中介作用。这些发现可以为内卷与躺平之间的关系提供新的见解，并帮助学生更好地适应学业学习。
