Decomposing Cultural Adaptation and Social Support in Relation to New Media Use and Psychological Well-Being Among Immigrants: a Chain Mediation Model

New media use contributed to reducing pandemic risks and maintaining interpersonal relationships, but compromised psychological well-being. Until now, it is unclear how immigrants used new media during the pandemic to develop cultural adaptive strategies and gain access to social support beneficial to psychological well-being. This study tests the chain effects of cultural adaptation and social support on the association between new media use and the psychological well-being of immigrants. Cross-sectional data from 612 immigrants from a web-based survey in China was examined through partial least square structural equation models (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that the independent mediating effect of cultural adaptation in the relationship between new media use and psychological well-being was significant with a dampening effect[β =  − 0.098; 95% CI (− 0.135, − 0.069); p < 0.001]. Similarly, the independent mediation effect of social support on the relationship between new media use and psychological well-being was also significant with a negative effect [β =  − 0.023; 95% CI (− 0.045, − 0.009); p < 0.05]. However, the chain mediation show a positive outcome such that the chain interaction of cultural adaptation and social support are pathways linking new media use to positive psychological well-being [β = 0.021; 95% CI (0.011, 0.035); p < 0.001], such that new media use enhances psychological well-being through the chain interactions of cultural adaptation and social support of immigrants. This study emphasizes the importance of joint promotion of cultural adaptation and social support in supporting psychological well-being associated with new media use. This study is critical to theories and practices of supporting immigrants during health crises.