Negative life events and life satisfaction in university students: Belief in a just world as a mediator and moderator

The relationship between life events, life satisfaction, and coping style of college students

We aimed to investigate the life events, life satisfaction, and coping style of college students, and to assess the relationship between them by performing mediating effect analysis. Our findings may provide a scientific basis for promoting the mental health of college students. Students in a medical college were selected using grade-stratified cluster sampling, and administered a standardized questionnaire survey. Out of 2,000 participants, 1827 participants provided valid questionnaires (response rate: 91.4%). The mean scores of life satisfaction and life events were 181.39 ± 30.28 and 19.32 ± 15.62, respectively. The mean score of coping style was 14.34 ± 7.54, which reflected positive coping style. Analysis of life satisfaction, life events, and factor scores showed that different grades, sibling status (whether the respondent was the only child in the family or not), family location, and life events had a significant association with life satisfaction (p < 0.001). There were significant differences in coping style between male and female students, and between students in different grades (p < 0.001). Positive coping style was found to play a partial mediating role between life events and life satisfaction, and the mediating effect accounted for 33.2% of the total effect. These results suggest that both life events and coping styles are related to college students' life satisfaction. The impact of life events on life satisfaction can be adjusted by psychological interventions to develop coping styles that can help promote the mental health of college students.

Bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: the roles of belief in a just world and classroom-level victimization

Studies have demonstrated that bullying victimization is a risk factor for depressive symptoms; however, little is known about the underlying processes that may mediate or moderate this relationship. To address this research gap, this study examined the mediating effects of personal and general belief in a just world (BJW) and the moderating effect of classroom-level victimization on the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Using a short-term longitudinal design, two-wave data were obtained from 2,551 Chinese adolescents (initial age = 12.99 ± 0.61, 52.2% boys) from 47 classes over 6 months. The results indicated that Time 1 personal BJW mediated the relationship between Time 1 bullying victimization and Time 2 depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the mediating effect of Time 1 personal BJW was moderated by Time 1 classroom-level victimization; this effect was stronger for adolescents in classrooms with low levels of victimization. These findings contribute to our understanding of how and when bullying victimization impacts youth depressive symptoms. Education practitioners should pay special attention to personal BJW in victimized adolescents, especially when classroom-level victimization is low.

Association of relative deprivation with loneliness and its underlying mechanisms: Evidence from Chinese migrant children

Given the increase in the number of internal migrant children, the mental health problems (e.g., loneliness) of this population have received widespread attention. Relative deprivation is considered to be related to migrant children’s loneliness. However, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Therefore, the present study tested the possible mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of belief in a just world in the association between relative deprivation and loneliness of migrant children. A total of 1,261 Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children (10–15 years old, Mage = 12.34 years, SD = 1.67; 52.0% males, 48.0% females; 23.55% fourth grade students, 16.49% fifth grade students, 19.59% sixth grade students, 15.54% seventh grade students, 13.80% eighth grade students, and 10.86% ninth grade students) were recruited to complete measures of relative deprivation, self-esteem, belief in a just world, loneliness, and demographic variables. Relative deprivation was significantly and positively correlated with migrant children’s loneliness, and this connection could be mediated by self-esteem. Moreover, the first part of the indirect effect of self-esteem on this link was moderated by belief in a just world. These effects were stronger for migrant children with higher levels of belief in a just world. This study reveals the potential mechanisms of relative deprivation affecting loneliness, while also providing insights into how to better help migrant children alleviate loneliness and improve their mental health.

Belief in a Just World and Mental Toughness in Adolescent Athletes: The Mediating Mechanism of Meaning in Life

Mental toughness is an essential component of adolescent athletes' athletic careers and lives. Evidence supports the positive effect of belief in a just world on individual psychological development, but the relationship between belief in a just world and mental toughness of adolescents has not been tested. In order to determine the influencing factors of mental toughness and explore effective strategies for improving adolescent athletes' mental toughness, this study introduced just world and life meaning theories to explore the relationship between belief in a just world, meaning in life (search for meaning/presence of meaning), and mental toughness. Based on the data of 1,544 adolescent athletes from Yantai and Qingdao in Shandong Province, China, we tested a parallel mediation model that considered the search for meaning and presence of meaning as mediators. The results were predicted as follows: there is a significant positive correlation between belief in a just world and mental toughness, while the relationship between belief in a just world and mental toughness was partially mediated by the search for meaning and the presence of meaning in life. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the presence of meaning played a more influential role than the search for meaning. The results suggest that belief in a just world is connected to the mental toughness of adolescent athletes via the meaning in life. Therefore, maintaining and promoting the level of belief in a just world and enhancing the sense of meaning in life may be an effective strategy to develop the mental toughness of adolescent athletes. The findings of this study can help develop the mental toughness of adolescent athletes and help them maintain a high level of subjective and objective performance under the pressure of training and competition, providing practical guidance for coaches and administrators in the training of adolescent athletes.

Does Belief in a Just World Moderate the Relationship Between Financial Stress and Suicide Risk in University Students?

Despite an established relationship between financial stress and suicide risk, factors that may influence this relationship are unclear. This study examined whether the belief that the world is fair and people generally get what they deserve (i.e., belief in a just world: BJW) moderates the financial stress-suicide risk relationship in university students. A total of 365 university students completed an online survey three times between May 2019 and April 2020. Multilevel model analyses indicated that financial stress increased suicide risk, after controlling for demographic factors and depression. The level of BJW-self and BJW-others moderated the relationship between financial stress and suicide risk. Specifically, the negative impact of financial stress on suicide risk was significant in students with a low or mean level of BJW-self, but not in those with a high level of BJW-self. Financial stress had a significant negative impact at all levels of BJW-others, with a stronger impact on students with lower levels of BJW others. These results suggest a need to address lower BJW, as it may worsen the financial stress-suicide risk relationship.

Relative deprivation and social anxiety among Chinese migrant children: Testing a moderated mediation model of perceived control and belief in a just world

To examine the relationship between relative deprivation and social anxiety, which affects mental health, and investigate the mediating role of perceived control and the moderating role of belief in a just world (BJW) in an understudied population in Asia, we surveyed 1573 rural-to-urban migrant children (48% female; M_age = 12.3, SD = 1.7) in southeast China. Relative deprivation was positively correlated with social anxiety; perceived control partially mediated this connection. Moreover, BJW moderated the indirect effect, which was stronger for male migrant children with lower levels of BJW. The limitations and practical implications of this study are discussed.

The Association between Perceived Social Hardship and Future Orientation among Hong Kong Young People: The Mediation Role of Belief in a Just World

A positive future orientation (FO) is associated with a range of positive outcomes. It is a crucial resilience factor that assists individuals to navigate developmental difficulties during the transition to young adulthood and during periods of social adversity. Exposure to negative social context threatens young people’s FO. The social demonstrations and the outbreak of coronavirus disease in Hong Kong over the past year have caused considerable hardship to the local society. Under such circumstance, young people in Hong Kong may develop a negative FO. Scant research has directly examined the relationship between perceived social hardship and FO as well as the underlying mechanism among Hong Kong young people. In this study, we tested the idea that young people’s perceived social hardship would be negatively related to FO via belief in a just world, a well-known foundation for individuals to think, feel, and plan their future. Participants were 554 students recruited from eight universities in Hong Kong. They filled in self-report questionnaires online. Results of structural equation modeling supported our hypothesis. These findings shed light on how to nurture Hong Kong young people to develop a positive mindset during periods of social hardship.

Profiles of psychosocial adversity and their associations with health risk behaviors and mental health outcomes in young adults

Adverse psychosocial experiences operate simultaneously to affect mental health and behavior. The current study used mixture modeling to identify subgroups of young adults based on experiences of four types of psychosocial adversity and characterize their associations with depression, anxiety, world assumptions, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Sexual assault, physical assault, and discrimination (interpersonal adversity) showed similar patterns within each group but diverged from neighborhood disadvantage in two groups. Groups characterized by higher interpersonal adversity reported the most negative health outcomes. Findings highlight variations in the co-occurrence of adverse experiences and differential links to risky health behaviors and mental health.