Li Ying, Qu Guiping, Kong Huiyan, Ma Xiaobo, Cao Lei, Li Tiantian, Wang Yue
School of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 14;13:989904. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.989904. eCollection 2022.
The outbreak of COVID-19 had a widely negative effect on adolescents' academics, stress, and mental health. At a critical period of cortical development, adolescents' cognition levels are highly developed, while the ability of emotion control is not developed at the same pace. Faced with negative emotions such as stress and social loneliness caused by COVID-19, adolescents' "hot" executive function encounters severer emotional regulation challenges than ever before.
The present study established a moderated mediation model to investigate the impact of rumination on "hot" execution function among Chinese middle school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specific role of depression and mindfulness in the association.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 650 students recruited from a province in central China. The participants completed questionnaires and experiment between July 2021 and August 2021. Rumination Responses Scales, Self-rating Depression Scale, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to measure the level of rumination, depression, and mindfulness. The reaction time and accuracy of the emotional conflict experiment were recorded to reflect the "hot" executive function.
The results of the moderated mediation model indicated that rumination of middle school students significantly and positively predicted depression in adolescents (β = 0.26, < 0.001). Meanwhile, the indirect effect of depression on the relationship between rumination and "hot" executive function was significant; depression partially mediated this relationship (word-face congruent condition: β = -0.09, < 0.01; word-face incongruent condition: β = -0.07, < 0.05). Furthermore, mindfulness buffered the association between rumination and depression, according to moderated mediation analysis (β = -0.11, < 0.001). For adolescents with low levels of mindfulness, the relationship was substantially stronger.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, middle school students' rumination would lead to depression, which can negatively impact their "hot" executive function. Besides, mindfulness could resist the adverse effect of rumination on depression. The educators should pay more attention to students' mental health, provide targeted strategies that boost mindfulness to promote their cognitive flexibility, and thus protect the normal development of their executive function during crisis events.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情对青少年的学业、压力和心理健康产生了广泛的负面影响。在皮质发育的关键时期，青少年的认知水平高度发达，而情绪控制能力的发展速度却不尽相同。面对COVID-19引发的压力和社交孤独等负面情绪，青少年的“热”执行功能面临着比以往更严峻的情绪调节挑战。
本研究建立了一个有调节的中介模型，以探讨沉思对COVID-19大流行期间中国中学生“热”执行功能的影响，以及抑郁和正念在这种关联中的具体作用。
本横断面研究对从中国中部某省招募的650名学生进行。参与者于2021年7月至2021年8月完成问卷调查和实验。采用沉思反应量表、自评抑郁量表和正念注意觉知量表来测量沉思、抑郁和正念水平。记录情绪冲突实验的反应时间和准确性，以反映“热”执行功能。
有调节的中介模型结果表明，中学生的沉思显著正向预测青少年的抑郁（β = 0.26，P < 0.001）。同时，抑郁在沉思与“热”执行功能关系中的间接效应显著；抑郁部分中介了这种关系（字-脸一致条件：β = -0.09，P < 0.01；字-脸不一致条件：β = -0.07，P < 0.05）。此外，根据有调节的中介分析，正念缓冲了沉思与抑郁之间的关联（β = -0.11，P < 0.001）。对于正念水平较低的青少年，这种关系更强。
在COVID-19大流行的背景下，中学生的沉思会导致抑郁，这会对他们的“热”执行功能产生负面影响。此外，正念可以抵御沉思对抑郁的不利影响。教育工作者应更加关注学生的心理健康，提供有针对性的提升正念的策略，以促进他们的认知灵活性，从而在危机事件期间保护其执行功能的正常发展。
