BackgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 had a widely negative effect on adolescents’ academics, stress, and mental health. At a critical period of cortical development, adolescents’ cognition levels are highly developed, while the ability of emotion control is not developed at the same pace. Faced with negative emotions such as stress and social loneliness caused by COVID-19, adolescents’ “hot” executive function encounters severer emotional regulation challenges than ever before.ObjectiveThe present study established a moderated mediation model to investigate the impact of rumination on “hot” execution function among Chinese middle school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specific role of depression and mindfulness in the association.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 650 students recruited from a province in central China. The participants completed questionnaires and experiment between July 2021 and August 2021. Rumination Responses Scales, Self-rating Depression Scale, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to measure the level of rumination, depression, and mindfulness. The reaction time and accuracy of the emotional conflict experiment were recorded to reflect the “hot” executive function.ResultsThe results of the moderated mediation model indicated that rumination of middle school students significantly and positively predicted depression in adolescents (β = 0.26, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, the indirect effect of depression on the relationship between rumination and “hot” executive function was significant; depression partially mediated this relationship (word-face congruent condition: β = −0.09, p < 0.01; word-face incongruent condition: β = −0.07, p < 0.05). Furthermore, mindfulness buffered the association between rumination and depression, according to moderated mediation analysis (β = −0.11, p < 0.001). For adolescents with low levels of mindfulness, the relationship was substantially stronger.ConclusionIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, middle school students’ rumination would lead to depression, which can negatively impact their “hot” executive function. Besides, mindfulness could resist the adverse effect of rumination on depression. The educators should pay more attention to students’ mental health, provide targeted strategies that boost mindfulness to promote their cognitive flexibility, and thus protect the normal development of their executive function during crisis events.

In recent years, the incidence of depression among adolescents has been increasing yearly, and the severe damage of depression on adolescents’ physical and mental health development has caused extensive concern worldwide. Previous research on adults has confirmed that meaning in life is a crucial buffer factor for depression, and developing meaning in life is an essential task in adolescence. Moreover, prior researchers also pointed out that frequent cognitive failures can induce negative emotions in individuals, whereas mindfulness can regulate individuals’ depression levels. However, few studies have investigated the impact of meaning in life on depression in adolescents and the underlying psychological mechanisms. Accordingly, based on the theoretical framework of the Cognitive Vulnerability–Stress Theory of Depression, this study aimed to explore the relationship between meaning in life and depression in junior high school students, as well as the mediating effect of cognitive failures and the moderating effect of mindfulness. We collected data from 948 adolescents aged 11 to 17 in two junior high schools in Henan Province, China, and tested the theoretical model through the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results showed that: (1) meaning in life had a significant negative predictive effect on depression (β = −0.24, p < 0.001); (2) cognitive failures partially mediated the relationship between meaning in life and depression (β = 0.31, p < 0.001); (3) the relationship between cognitive failures and depression was moderated by mindfulness (β = −0.05, p < 0.05). This study implied that we could start by cultivating adolescents’ meaning in life and improving their level of mindfulness to prevent and intervene in adolescent depression.