Wang Xiubin, Jiang Nengzhi
School of Psychology, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province, China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Sep 19;104(38):e44762. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000044762.
Adolescent depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in China, with prior studies highlighting a significant association between meaning in life and depressive symptoms. However, the roles of the presence of meaning (PML) and the search for meaning (SML) with depressive symptoms remain inconsistently defined. This study employed network analysis to explore the associations between PML, SML, and specific depressive symptoms in a sample of 2253 Chinese adolescents (968 males; mean age = 15.00 years). Participants completed the Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire and a short Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Findings revealed that both PML and SML were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Notably, symptoms such as lack of positive affect and activity retardation were directly connected to both PML and SML. Furthermore, adolescents with lower PML levels demonstrated a more densely interconnected depressive symptom network. These results elucidate the associations between different dimensions of meaning in life and the network structure of adolescent depressive symptoms, offering insights that may inform future interventions.
青少年抑郁症状在中国非常普遍，先前的研究强调了生活意义与抑郁症状之间的显著关联。然而，生活意义的存在（PML）和对生活意义的探寻（SML）与抑郁症状之间的作用仍未得到一致的界定。本研究采用网络分析方法，在2253名中国青少年（968名男性；平均年龄=15.00岁）样本中，探究PML、SML与特定抑郁症状之间的关联。参与者完成了中文版生活意义问卷和中文版简短流行病学研究中心抑郁量表。研究结果显示，PML和SML均与抑郁症状呈负相关。值得注意的是，缺乏积极情绪和活动迟缓等症状与PML和SML均直接相关。此外，PML水平较低的青少年表现出抑郁症状网络的联系更为紧密。这些结果阐明了生活意义不同维度与青少年抑郁症状网络结构之间的关联，为未来的干预措施提供了参考依据。
