Effects of college students’ mindfulness on depression symptoms during the epidemic prevention and control period: The mediating effect of psychological resilience
Yan-Fei Jiang, Zhiyu Yi, Youjuan Yao, Yan-Bing Hu, Feilin Li, Hui Ma
Frontiers in Psychiatry January 4, 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.991449 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 810 |
| Population | College students at Northwest Normal University under closed management during the COVID-19 pandemic, aged 17-30 (mean 20.43) |
| Measures | Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire—Short Form, Psychological Resilience Scale, Beck Depression Scale |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | Psychological resilience was negatively associated with depressive symptoms and mediated the relationship between mindfulness and depressive symptoms. Men reported significantly higher depression symptoms than women, while gender differences in mindfulness and resilience and grade differences in all three measures were not significant. |
Abstract
Depression symptoms significantly impact college students’ mental health, particularly during the “closed management” period during the spread of COVID-19. Exploring the mechanism that affects college students’ depression symptoms can help alleviate the impact of closed management policies on individual mental health and improve their mental health level. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the normalization of epidemic prevention and control in China and the implementation of the dynamic zero-COVID policy. This study used the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire—Short Form, Psychological Resilience Scale, and Beck Depression Scale to investigate the mindfulness, psychological resilience, and depression symptoms of 1,062 students under closed management conditions at Northwest Normal University. The mindfulness, psychological resilience, and depression status of students in closed management were investigated using an online questionnaire survey. Eight hundred and ten college students (Mage = 20.43, SD = 1.67, range = 17-30) were selected to test the model using the structural equation model and bootstrap method. The results showed that the gender differences in mindfulness and psychological resilience were not significant. Gender differences in depression symptoms were significant, and depression symptoms in men were significantly higher than in women. Grade differences in resilience, mindfulness, and depression levels were not significant. Thus, psychological resilience is negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Psychological resilience plays a mediating role between mindfulness and depressive symptoms. This study provides reference and inspiration for improving college students’ mental health under epidemic prevention and control circumstances.