Cognitive-Affective Factors Associated with Psychological Distress in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Structural Equation Modelling Study
PsyArXiv Preprints September 30, 2026 preprint DOI: osf:p2e8b_v2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study using structural equation modelling |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 841 |
| Population | Community sample of young adults aged 18 to 30 years |
| Measures | PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10, FFMQ, MSAS-18, ER89, RDCA |
| Keywords | Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | Acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity showed the clearest unique negative associations with psychological distress, while observing showed a small positive association. The preferred model accounted for 53.9% of the variance in latent distress, and resilience and metacognition showed negative indirect associations through several mindfulness facets. |
Abstract
Objectives: To examine concurrent associations among cognitive-affective factors associated with psychological distress in young adults.
Methods: Cross-sectional structural equation modelling was conducted in a community sample of 841 young adults aged 18 to 30 years. Psychological distress was specified as a latent factor indicated by depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxious symptoms (GAD-7), and perceived stress (PSS-10). Mindfulness facets (FFMQ), metacognition (MSAS-18), resilience (ER89), and creativity (RDCA) were entered into two models with alternative structural orderings. Model fit was evaluated using the CFI, TLI, RMSEA, SRMR, AIC, and BIC.
Results: Model 1 showed acceptable-to-good fit (CFI = .98, TLI = .94, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .03) and better comparative fit than Model 2 (CFI = .97, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .09, SRMR = .06). Model 1 statistically accounted for 53.9% of the variance in latent psychological distress. Acting with awareness (β = -.29), nonjudging (β = -.39), and nonreactivity (β = -.20) showed unique negative associations with distress, whereas observing showed a small positive association (β = .08). Resilience showed a direct negative association and negative indirect associations in configurations involving acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. Metacognition showed negative indirect associations involving acting with awareness and nonreactivity. Creativity showed a bivalent pattern: a positive indirect association involving observing and a negative indirect association involving nonreactivity.
Conclusions: Acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity showed the clearest unique associations with lower psychological distress in young adults. These findings identify candidate self-regulatory capacities for prospective testing in preventive and therapeutic intervention research.