“Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors

IntroductionGiven the high incidence of depression among adolescents and its serious consequences, investigating its influencing factors and mechanisms is of great theoretical and practical significance. This study aims to explore the mediating effects of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiaoxu Hou, Jinsheng Hu, Zhihong Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1494074/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832087149547094016
author Xiaoxu Hou
Jinsheng Hu
Zhihong Liu
author_facet Xiaoxu Hou
Jinsheng Hu
Zhihong Liu
author_sort Xiaoxu Hou
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionGiven the high incidence of depression among adolescents and its serious consequences, investigating its influencing factors and mechanisms is of great theoretical and practical significance. This study aims to explore the mediating effects of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction on the relationship between the presence of meaning in life and depression among Chinese high school seniors.MethodsSix hundred and twenty-one senior high school students (17.09 ± 0.45 years, 266 boys) were recruited from Shandong, China, to participate in the study. Participants completed the Adolescent Students’ Sense of Alienation (ASAS), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).ResultsOur findings revealed that (1) the sense of alienation and life satisfaction play a chain mediating role between the presence of meaning in life and depression among Chinese high school seniors; (2) the sense of alienation plays a mediating role between the presence of meaning in life and depression; (3) there are gender differences in the chain mediation model of the influence of the presence of meaning in life on depression.ConclusionThis study reveals potential pathways through which the presence of meaning in life affects depression among Chinese high school seniors, offering support and a basis for future mental health interventions for this population.
format Article
id doaj-art-8fabd96322f940c7b6b85b17765db364
institution Kabale University
issn 1664-0640
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychiatry
spelling doaj-art-8fabd96322f940c7b6b85b17765db3642025-02-06T07:09:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-02-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.14940741494074“Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniorsXiaoxu HouJinsheng HuZhihong LiuIntroductionGiven the high incidence of depression among adolescents and its serious consequences, investigating its influencing factors and mechanisms is of great theoretical and practical significance. This study aims to explore the mediating effects of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction on the relationship between the presence of meaning in life and depression among Chinese high school seniors.MethodsSix hundred and twenty-one senior high school students (17.09 ± 0.45 years, 266 boys) were recruited from Shandong, China, to participate in the study. Participants completed the Adolescent Students’ Sense of Alienation (ASAS), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).ResultsOur findings revealed that (1) the sense of alienation and life satisfaction play a chain mediating role between the presence of meaning in life and depression among Chinese high school seniors; (2) the sense of alienation plays a mediating role between the presence of meaning in life and depression; (3) there are gender differences in the chain mediation model of the influence of the presence of meaning in life on depression.ConclusionThis study reveals potential pathways through which the presence of meaning in life affects depression among Chinese high school seniors, offering support and a basis for future mental health interventions for this population.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1494074/fullpresence of meaninglife satisfactionsense of alienationdepressionhigh school senior
spellingShingle Xiaoxu Hou
Jinsheng Hu
Zhihong Liu
“Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
Frontiers in Psychiatry
presence of meaning
life satisfaction
sense of alienation
depression
high school senior
title “Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
title_full “Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
title_fullStr “Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
title_full_unstemmed “Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
title_short “Meaninglessness makes me unhappy”: examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among Chinese high school seniors
title_sort meaninglessness makes me unhappy examining the role of a sense of alienation and life satisfaction in the relationship between the presence of meaning and depression among chinese high school seniors
topic presence of meaning
life satisfaction
sense of alienation
depression
high school senior
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1494074/full
work_keys_str_mv AT xiaoxuhou meaninglessnessmakesmeunhappyexaminingtheroleofasenseofalienationandlifesatisfactionintherelationshipbetweenthepresenceofmeaninganddepressionamongchinesehighschoolseniors
AT jinshenghu meaninglessnessmakesmeunhappyexaminingtheroleofasenseofalienationandlifesatisfactionintherelationshipbetweenthepresenceofmeaninganddepressionamongchinesehighschoolseniors
AT zhihongliu meaninglessnessmakesmeunhappyexaminingtheroleofasenseofalienationandlifesatisfactionintherelationshipbetweenthepresenceofmeaninganddepressionamongchinesehighschoolseniors