IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i4p3041-d1062991.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Depression among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Cognitive Failures and Mindfulness

Author

Listed:
  • Ying Li

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Yihan Jin

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Huiyan Kong

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Chao Feng

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Lei Cao

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Tiantian Li

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Yue Wang

    (School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

In recent years, the incidence of depression among adolescents has been increasing yearly, and the severe damage of depression on adolescents’ physical and mental health development has caused extensive concern worldwide. Previous research on adults has confirmed that meaning in life is a crucial buffer factor for depression, and developing meaning in life is an essential task in adolescence. Moreover, prior researchers also pointed out that frequent cognitive failures can induce negative emotions in individuals, whereas mindfulness can regulate individuals’ depression levels. However, few studies have investigated the impact of meaning in life on depression in adolescents and the underlying psychological mechanisms. Accordingly, based on the theoretical framework of the Cognitive Vulnerability–Stress Theory of Depression, this study aimed to explore the relationship between meaning in life and depression in junior high school students, as well as the mediating effect of cognitive failures and the moderating effect of mindfulness. We collected data from 948 adolescents aged 11 to 17 in two junior high schools in Henan Province, China, and tested the theoretical model through the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results showed that: (1) meaning in life had a significant negative predictive effect on depression ( β = −0.24, p < 0.001); (2) cognitive failures partially mediated the relationship between meaning in life and depression ( β = 0.31, p < 0.001); (3) the relationship between cognitive failures and depression was moderated by mindfulness ( β = −0.05, p < 0.05). This study implied that we could start by cultivating adolescents’ meaning in life and improving their level of mindfulness to prevent and intervene in adolescent depression.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Li & Yihan Jin & Huiyan Kong & Chao Feng & Lei Cao & Tiantian Li & Yue Wang, 2023. "The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Depression among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Cognitive Failures and Mindfulness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3041-:d:1062991
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3041/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3041/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yue Wang & Zexin Zheng & Xiaoyi Duan & Mengsha Li & Ying Li, 2022. "The Relationship between Mindfulness and Social Adaptation among Migrant Children in China: The Sequential Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem and Resilience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Michael Steger & Arissa Fitch-Martin & Jena Donnelly & Kathryn Rickard, 2015. "Meaning in Life and Health: Proactive Health Orientation Links Meaning in Life to Health Variables Among American Undergraduates," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 583-597, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jie Wen & Miao Miao, 2022. "Relationships Between Meaning in Life, Positive and Negative Affect, and Eating Behaviors: A Daily Diary Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1315-1331, April.
    2. Cixian Lv & Peijin Yang & Jingjing Xu & Jia Sun & Yuelong Ming & Xiaotong Zhi & Xinghua Wang, 2023. "Association between Urban Educational Policies and Migrant Children’s Social Integration in China: Mediated by Psychological Capital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Zhang, Shuyue & Fu, Ya-Nan & Liu, Qun & Turel, Ofir & He, Qinghua, 2022. "Psychological capital mediates the influence of meaning in life on prosocial behavior of university students: A longitudinal study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Volker Gehrau & Sam Fujarski & Hannah Lorenz & Carla Schieb & Bernd Blöbaum, 2021. "The Impact of Health Information Exposure and Source Credibility on COVID-19 Vaccination Intention in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-12, April.
    5. Małgorzata Szcześniak & Andrzej Potemkowski & Waldemar Brola & Zdzisław Kroplewski & Roman Ryszard Szałachowski & Marek Zak & Maciej Wilski & Piotr Sobolewski & Halina Bartosik-Psujek & Katarzyna Kapi, 2022. "The Big Five Personality Traits and Positive Orientation in Polish Adults with Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Meaning in Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Teniell L. Trolian & Elizabeth A. Jach, 2022. "Applied Learning and Students’ Well-Being in Higher Education," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1269-1286, June.
    7. Marcin Wnuk, 2022. "The Beneficial Role of Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous for Existential and Subjective Well-Being of Alcohol-Dependent Individuals? The Model Verification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3041-:d:1062991. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.