"Better hope, less depressed": The potential mediating role of pathways thinking between negative emotions and depressive symptoms among Chinese university students

Abstract

Depression is a significant public health issue, particularly in young adults of university age, and it is important to explore a protective factor to minimize the adverse effects of negative emotions. This study examined the mediating role of two hope components, agency thinking and pathways thinking, in the association between negative emotions and depressive symptoms in university students. Three hundred and fifteen Chinese undergraduates (211 females and 104 males) participated in this study (mean age = 22.08 years; SD = 2.74). The participants were invited to complete a self-administered online questionnaire measuring negative emotions, hope and depressive symptoms. In terms of bootstrapped mediation testing, the results indicated that negative emotions were partially associated with depressive symptoms through pathways thinking, but not agency thinking. These findings consolidate the complex nature of hope, and suggest that hope (through pathways thinking in particular) can be a protective factor in terms of university students' psychological outcomes. Possible explanations and clinical implications of our findings are discussed.