Associations between negative life events and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of self-esteem and coping tendency.

Authors

Yifan Zhang, Juntao Chen, Shiqi Huang, Peizheng Li, Shihong Song, Xiyuan Fu, Jiaxin Liao, Weiping Wang, Lu Ma, Xiaoming Huang

Published in

Frontiers in psychology. Volume 17. Pages 1826479. Epub Jun 25, 2026.

Abstract

Numerous studies have highlighted the links between depressive symptoms, negative life events, self-esteem, and coping tendency in adolescents. However, the intricate associations and potential pathways to depressive symptoms remain unclear. This study aimed to explore these pathways using a theoretically driven chain-mediated approach.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,805 junior high school students in two cities in Hubei Province, China. Participants completed scales assessing negative life events, self-esteem, coping tendency, and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling (SEM) adjusted for the complex survey design was employed to test the sequential indirect effects of self-esteem and coping tendency between negative life events and depressive symptoms. Multi-group SEM was conducted to examine whether indirect effects differed by gender and grade.
Greater exposure to negative life events was associated with more severe depressive symptoms ( $\beta$ = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.65), lower self-esteem ( $\beta$ = - 0.49, 95% CI: -0.55, -0.44), and a less positive coping tendency ( $\beta$ = - 0.16, 95% CI: -0.20, -0.12). Higher self-esteem was associated with a more positive coping tendency ( $\beta$ = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.55) and less severe depressive symptoms ( $\beta$ = - 0.22, 95% CI: -0.29, -0.15). A more positive coping tendency was associated with less severe depressive symptoms ( $\beta$ = - 0.11, 95% CI: -0.15, -0.07). The estimated total indirect association through self-esteem and coping tendency was 0.15 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.19), accounting for 21.2% of the total association, and comprised three components: the path through self-esteem alone (0.11, 15.0%), through coping tendency alone (0.02, 2.5%), and sequentially through both (0.03, 3.6%). These indirect associations did not differ significantly by gender or grade.
Higher self-esteem and a more positive coping tendency showed a sequential indirect association linking negative life events to depressive symptoms, suggesting they may be potential intervention targets. Cross-sectional data preclude causal inference; longitudinal studies are needed to verify the proposed pathway.

PMID:
42427362
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Jul 2026.

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