The relationship of negative life events, trait-anxiety and depression among Chinese university students: A moderated effect of self-esteem

Background: Negative life events are major triggers for depression. How individual physical qualities and psychological resources affect the relationship between negative life events and depression in college students remains to be studied. Therefore, we constructed a structural equation model to explore the mediating effect of trait anxiety and the moderating effect of self-esteem in the relationship between negative life events and depression among college students. Methods: A total of 6224 Chinese college students (aged 16-25) in Jiangxi Province in the central area of China completed the online survey. A moderated mediation model was tested to verify the hypothesis. Results: The mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of negative life events on depression through trait-anxiety. Mediation was moderated by self-esteem, which significantly interacted with negative life events to reduce their effect on both anxiety and depression. Limitations: All measures were self-reported. The cross-sectional design only provides evidence of correlation. Conclusions: The results in this study revealed that self-esteem as a component of psychological defense mechanism to reduce the harm of environmental threats to individuals. Low self-esteem college students are more likely to have adverse effects when experiencing low-level life events. University mental health education reduces the effects of negative life events on trait anxiety and depression of college students by raising their selfesteem levels.