Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, 71-017 Szczecin, Poland.
Institute of Psychology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 17;19(10):6065. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19106065.
Early adulthood, between 18 and 25, is viewed as a decisive period of life for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression. Although the topic of their mutual relationship is well-known, little has been uncovered about the mechanism underlying this connection. To understand the indirect pathways between anxiety and depression, we chose the sense of meaning of life as a mediator because people's beliefs that their lives are or can be purposeful may protect against depression. The sample was composed of 277 Polish young adults. A small majority of the participants were women (58.8%). The mean age was = 22.11 ( = 1.72). We used in the research the Direct Behavior Rating-Scale Items Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Brief Screen for Depression. Correlational analysis showed that, consistent with past findings, anxiety correlated positively with depression and searching for meaning. It was also negatively associated with presence of meaning. Moreover, depression was negatively linked to presence of meaning and positively with searching for meaning. Regression-based mediation analyses (PROCESS macro 3.4) proved that the relationship between anxiety and depression was mediated by presence of meaning in life, suggesting that having a sense of meaning may be a pathway by which feelings of tension relative to adverse events protect against depression.
成年早期，即 18 至 25 岁，被视为预防和治疗焦虑和抑郁的关键时期。尽管人们已经熟知焦虑和抑郁之间的相互关系这一话题，但对于二者相互关联的机制却知之甚少。为了了解焦虑和抑郁之间的间接途径，我们选择生活意义感作为中介，因为人们相信自己的生活有意义或可能有意义，可以预防抑郁。样本由 277 名波兰年轻成年人组成。大多数参与者为女性（58.8%）。平均年龄为 22.11（标准差=1.72）。我们在研究中使用了直接行为评定量表项目量表、生活意义问卷和简要抑郁筛查。相关分析表明，与以往的研究结果一致，焦虑与抑郁和寻找意义呈正相关，与意义的存在呈负相关。此外，抑郁与意义的存在呈负相关，与寻找意义呈正相关。基于回归的中介分析（PROCESS 宏 3.4）证明，焦虑和抑郁之间的关系是由生活意义的存在所中介的，这表明，有意义的感觉可能是一种途径，使人们对与负面事件相关的紧张情绪得到缓解，从而预防抑郁。
