Benevolent Childhood Experiences and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Undergraduates: A Moderated Mediation Model Examining the Roles of Uncertainty Stress and Family Relationship

Abstract

Background: The evidence on the association between benevolent childhood experience (BCE) and depressive symptoms in students is complex. This study aims to explore the underlying mediation mechanism of BCE toward depressive symptoms and whether this link was moderated by the family relationship among Chinese undergraduates.Methods: From March 2021 to May 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted in China, and 1821 undergraduates were recruited in this study. Participants were asked to complete a self-reported electronic questionnaire. The software SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the mediation and mediated moderated modeling analysis.Results: Mediation analysis indicated that uncertainty stress (US) partly mediated the link between BCE and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = −0.47, 95% bootstrap CI = −0.55, −0.39). The indirect effect of the US accounted for 39.63% of the total variance in depression. Moderation analysis indicated that the association between the US and depressive symptoms was significantly modified by family relationships (interact effect = −0.019, P < 0.001). An integrative moderated mediation analysis indicated that the indirect effect from BCE to depressive symptoms through the US was also moderated by family relationships (interact effect = −0.012, P = 0.014).Conclusion: Uncertainty stress plays a key role in bridging BCE and depressive symptoms while the family relationship can buffer the impact of the US on depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduates. Enhancing tolerance of uncertainty and improving family relationships are needed to protect undergraduates from depressive symptoms.

Association between pregnant specific stress and depressive symptoms in the late pregnancy of Chinese women: the moderate role of family relationship and leisure hobbies

“…A study conducted in rural areas of Southwest China among 490 women has revealed that family function had a direct negative correlation with perinatal depression (Huang et al 2021 ). Moreover, a study conducted in China with 1821 undergraduates indicated that the association between the uncertainty stress and depressive symptoms was significantly moderated by family relationships (Zhang et al 2021 ). However, whether family relationship plays a moderate role between pregnancy specific stress and depressive symptoms has not been explored.…”

Network connectivity between benevolent childhood experiences and uncertainty stress among Chinese university students

“…Emerging evidence suggests that those who report more BCEs in childhood have better mental health ( 25 ). Furthermore, one cross-sectional study of Chinese university students shows that BCEs are negatively associated with uncertainty stress and provide a buffer for uncertainty stress ( 26 ). Hou et al also found that Chinese university students who experienced more BCEs were less likely to have uncertainty stress ( 27 ).…”

Relationships Among Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences, Emotion Dysregulation, and Psychopathology Symptoms

“…BCEs are common, with the average number ranging from 8.15 to 8.97 in college student and other adult samples in the US (Crandall et al, 2019;Doom et al, 2021;Rodriguez et al, 2021). In contrast to ACEs, BCEs have been associated with better mental health in adulthood, including fewer PTSD symptoms in pregnant women with histories of childhood adversity (Narayan et al, 2018), and fewer symptoms of depression (Doom et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2021) and anxiety (Rodriguez et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2022) in university students. While this is a newer research area than ACEs, studies show an opposite pattern of relationship with various psychopathological symptoms, raising the possibility BCEs are a transdiagnostic protective factor for mental disorders, i.e., a factor that decreases the likelihood of experiencing a range of disorders (Lynch et al, 2020).…”

“…BCEs have also been examined with regard to main/direct effects on outcomes, conceptualized as promotive factors that have favorable main effects on outcomes independent of level of ACEs (e.g., Doom et al, 2021;Narayan et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2021). In addition, researchers have investigated the neutralizing or protective or buffering role of BCEs on the negative mental health effects of ACEs; however, findings were inconsistent in studies of US university students during the pandemic.…”

“…Prior trauma has been shown to be a risk factor for pandemic-specific PTSD in college students (Feiler et al, 2022). In contrast, BCEs have been associated with better mental health outcomes in college students (Doom et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2021). Given emerging adulthood starts where childhood experiences end, studying this population enables researchers to gain a greater understanding of a more proximal impact of childhood experiences on adult emotion regulation and mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, and PTSD.…”