Wang Weiyu, Wang Xiqing, Yu You
College of Teacher Education, Jishou University, Jishou, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
College of Special Education, Beijing Union University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2025 Aug 20;18:1749-1758. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S532541. eCollection 2025.
This study investigated the impact of COVID-19-related stress events on the mental health of home-quarantined college students and explored the mediating role of negative cognitive emotion regulation and the moderating role of meaning in life.
An online survey was conducted among 1,644 college students in Hunan, China, from February 29 to March 2, 2020. The survey included measures of COVID-19-related stress events, negative cognitive emotion regulation, meaning in life (present meaning and search for meaning), and overall psychological distress.
Most college students experienced significant COVID-19-related stress during home quarantine. Negative cognitive emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between stress events and mental health. Meaning in life (both dimensions) buffered the effect of stress events on negative cognitive emotion regulation, such that this association was attenuated at higher levels of meaning. Specifically, when students reported higher levels of meaning in life, the adverse effect of stress events on negative cognitive emotion regulation was significantly attenuated, highlighting the protective role of meaning in life against maladaptive emotional responses. When students reported high levels of meaning in life, the association between stress events and negative cognitive emotion regulation was diminished.
Our findings highlight that fostering meaning in life may serve as a psychological resource to enhance mental health resilience among college students during and after pandemics. Interventions aimed at promoting meaning in life could be beneficial for supporting the mental well-being of students in stressful situations.
本研究调查了与新冠疫情相关的应激事件对居家隔离大学生心理健康的影响，并探讨了消极认知情绪调节的中介作用以及生命意义的调节作用。
于2020年2月29日至3月2日对中国湖南的1644名大学生进行了在线调查。该调查包括与新冠疫情相关的应激事件、消极认知情绪调节、生命意义（当下意义和意义探寻）以及总体心理困扰的测量。
大多数大学生在居家隔离期间经历了与新冠疫情相关的显著应激。消极认知情绪调节部分中介了应激事件与心理健康之间的关系。生命意义（两个维度）缓冲了应激事件对消极认知情绪调节的影响，即这种关联在更高的生命意义水平上减弱。具体而言，当学生报告更高的生命意义水平时，应激事件对消极认知情绪调节的不利影响显著减弱，凸显了生命意义对适应不良情绪反应的保护作用。当学生报告高水平的生命意义时，应激事件与消极认知情绪调节之间的关联减弱。
我们的研究结果表明，培养生命意义可能作为一种心理资源，以增强大学生在疫情期间及之后的心理健康恢复力。旨在促进生命意义的干预措施可能有助于支持处于压力情境下学生的心理健康。
