The mediating effect of resilience on mental health literacy and positive coping style among Chinese empty nesters: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesEmpty nesters in China have limited mental health literacy (MHL), which may lead to poorer health outcomes. Studies demonstrate that MHL is associated with both resilience and positive coping style. However, the potential mechanism of MHL, resilience and positive coping style remain unclear. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the possible mediating role of resilience in the relationship between MHL and positive coping style.MethodIn this cross-sectional study, a total of 363 empty nesters from Huzhou, China were surveyed in 2022. The Chinese version of Mental Health Literacy Scale (C-MHLS), the Chinese version of 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ-19) were used to assess MHL, resilience, and positive coping style, respectively.ResultsPositive coping style was significantly correlated with MHL and resilience, and MHL was positively correlated with resilience (p < 0.01). MHL can significantly and positively predict the positive coping style, and resilience played a partial intermediary role between MHL and positive coping style, with the intermediary effect of 77.36%.ConclusionThis study indicates that MHL not only directly affected positive coping style, but also indirectly influences positive coping style by increasing the resilience of empty nesters. The results provide an empirical evidence for the development of intervention programs to improve positive coping style directly and indirectly. Consequently, community health servicers should take targeted measures which focus on MHL and resilience as breakthrough points to stimulate positive coping style of empty nesters, and ultimately achieve their overall well-being.

The Relationship Between Negative Coping Styles, Psychological Resilience, and Positive Coping Styles in Military Personnel: A Cross-Lagged Analysis

“… 3 , 37 Conversely, individuals who are prone to utilizing negative coping strategies tend to have lower levels of psychological resilience, as negative coping styles negatively predict psychological resilience. 37 , 38 However, there has been no exploration of the relationship between negative coping styles and positive coping styles in terms of psychological resilience in earlier studies. Moreover, there is a lack of follow-up studies conducted over a longer period of time.…”

The association between mental health literacy and resilience among individuals who received therapy and those who did not

“…The results of the study suggest that better knowledge regarding mental health disorders may be beneficial for one's resilience. Recently, studies conducted among Chinese adolescents, college students and older Chinese individuals revealed that MHL was positively associated with resilience (Song et al, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023aZhang et al, , 2023b. MHL is associated with self-management and self-efficacy as well as with positive coping styles (Song et al, 2023;Zheng et al, 2018).…”

“…Recently, studies conducted among Chinese adolescents, college students and older Chinese individuals revealed that MHL was positively associated with resilience (Song et al, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023aZhang et al, , 2023b. MHL is associated with self-management and self-efficacy as well as with positive coping styles (Song et al, 2023;Zheng et al, 2018). It appears that individuals with more knowledge may feel better equipped to take proper care of themselves, thus potentially enhancing their resilience.…”

“…Similarly, there is some evidence to suggest that therapy and interventions may enhance individuals’ resilience (Kunzler et al , 2022; Macedo et al , 2014). Findings among older Chinese individuals indicated that a positive coping style was influenced by both MHL and resilience (Song et al , 2023). Those who have higher MHL levels may be more apt to take positive actions to maintain their mental health, to seek appropriate information and to seek help.…”

“…The association between MHL and resilience has not received much research attention. We found only three studies in which the association between MHL and resilience was examined, and these studies were conducted among Chinese adolescents (Zhang et al , 2023b), Chinese college students (Zhang et al , 2023a) and “empty nesters” in China (older individuals over 60 with no children or whose children are not around) (Song et al , 2023). In all of these studies, MHL was positively associated with resilience.…”