The present study aims to examine the relationship between trait resilience and virtues in the context of trauma. A total of 537 participants who attended the preliminary investigation and completed the Life Events Checklist were screened. Of these participants, 142 suffered from personal traumatic experiences in the past year; these individuals were qualified and invited to respond to online questionnaires to assess trait resilience, virtues (i.e., Conscientiousness, Vitality, and Relationship), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and post-traumatic growth (PTG). The following questionnaires were used: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-Revised, Chinese Virtues Questionnaire, PTSD Checklist-Specific, and Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-Chinese. Only 95 participants who manifested self-reported PTSD symptoms and PTG were involved in the current analyses. Trauma was positively and significantly correlated with PTSD in the current sample. Results indicated that trait resilience was positively associated with virtues and PTG; by contrast, PTSD scores were negatively but not significantly related to most of these factors. The three virtues contributed to PTG to a greater extent than trait resilience in non-PTSD and PTSD groups. However, trait resilience remained a significant predictor in the PTSD group even when the three virtues were controlled. The relationship between trait resilience and PTG was moderated by PTSD type (non-PTSD group vs. PTSD group). Our results further suggested that trait resilience and virtues were conceptually related but functionally different constructs. Trait resilience and virtues are positively related; thus, these factors contributed variances to PTG in the context of trauma; however, trait resilience is only manifested when virtues are controlled and when individuals are diagnosed as PTSD. Furthermore, implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

BackgroundPrevious studies conducted in Western countries independently demonstrated that loneliness and rumination are remarkable risk factors of depression among the elderly in both community and nursing homes. However, knowledge on the relationship between these three constructs among the elderly in Eastern countries is scarce. The current study aims to determine the relationship between loneliness, rumination, and depression among Chinese elderly in nursing homes.MethodsA total of 71 elderly participants with an average age of 82.49 years completed this six-month longitudinal study. Physical reports indicated that none of the participants were clinically depressed before the study. At Time 1, their loneliness and rumination were measured using UCLA-8 Loneliness Scale and Ruminative Responses Scale. Six months later, the participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale to assess depressive symptoms (Time 2).ResultsMultiple regression analysis revealed that both loneliness and rumination at Time 1 were the predictors of depression symptoms at Time 2 among the Chinese elderly in nursing homes. However, in the mediation analysis using PROCESS, the indirect effect between loneliness at Time 1 and depression symptoms at Time 2 was insignificant.ConclusionsResults suggest that previous loneliness and rumination thinking are predictors of future depression symptoms among the Chinese elderly in nursing homes. However, the insignificant mediation further suggests that the differences between loneliness and rumination should be explored in future studies. Findings have important implications for mental health professionals in nursing homes in China.