Abstract
Due to the frequent occurrence of global threats in recent years, it is necessary for researchers to closely examine how resilience affects poor mental health. However, there have been no longitudinal studies investigating whether resilience moderates the association between emotion-focused coping style and negative affect. Based on this premise, we examined the psychological mechanisms connecting resilience with health by investigating daily stressors, emotion-focused coping style, resilience and negative affect. Using daily diary approach, this study investigated the impact of daily stressors, emotion-focused coping style, and outcome-oriented resilience on negative affect among 69 university students with a mean age of 19.76 (SD = 0.97) in a 30-day study. Furthermore, we employed the residual approach to operationalize resilience as an outcome and investigated its moderating effect on the relationships between daily stressors, emotion-focused coping style and negative affect. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that daily stressors, emotion-focused coping style, and outcome-oriented resilience significantly predicted daily negative affect. Additionally, interindividual differences in outcome-oriented resilience moderated the relationship between emotion-focused coping style and negative affect but not the association between daily stressors and negative affect. Participants with higher levels of resilience exhibited greater reactivity to negative affect when utilizing emotion-focused coping style, as opposed to those with lower levels of resilience. This research improves understanding of the psychological mechanisms linking outcome-oriented resilience to mental health.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Ahluwalia, M., Shillington, K. J., & Irwin, J. D. (2023). The relationship between resilience and mental health of undergraduate students: A scoping review. Journal of American College Health, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2023.2252925
Barlow, D. H., Sauer-Zavala, S., Carl, J. R., Bullis, J. R., & Ellard, K. K. (2014). The nature, diagnosis, and treatment of neuroticism: Back to the future. Clinical Psychological Science, 2(3), 344–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702613505532
Bögemann, S. A., Puhlmann, L. M., Wackerhagen, C., Zerban, M., Riepenhausen, A., Köber, G., ... & Kalisch, R. (2023). Psychological resilience factors and their association with weekly stressor reactivity during the covid-19 outbreak in Europe: Prospective longitudinal study. JMIR Mental Health, 10(1), e46518.
Brem, M. J., Stuart, G. L., Cornelius, T. L., & Shorey, R. C. (2021). A longitudinal examination of alcohol problems and cyber, psychological, and physical dating abuse: The moderating role of emotion dysregulation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19–20), NP10499–NP10519. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519876029
Charles, S. T., Piazza, J. R., Mogle, J., Sliwinski, M. J., & Almeida, D. M. (2013). The wear and tear of daily stressors on mental health. Psychological Science, 24(5), 733–741. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612462222
Chmitorz, A., Kunzler, A., Helmreich, I., Tüscher, O., Kalisch, R., Kubiak, T., Wessa, M., & Lieb, K. (2018). Intervention studies to foster resilience – A systematic review and proposal for a resilience framework in future intervention studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 59, 78–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.11.002
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404
Compton, R. J., Robinson, M. D., Ode, S., Quandt, L. C., Fineman, S. L., & Carp, J. (2008). Error-monitoring ability predicts daily stress regulation. Psychological Science, 19(7), 702–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02145.x
Compton, R. J., Arnstein, D., Freedman, G., Dainer-Best, J., Liss, A., & Robinson, M. D. (2011). Neural and behavioral measures of error-related cognitive control predict daily coping with stress. Emotion, 11(2), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021776
Dignath, D., Eder, A. B., Steinhauser, M., & Kiesel, A. (2020). Conflict monitoring and the affective-signaling hypothesis—An integrative review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(2), 193–216. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-019-01668-9
Drake, A., Doré, B. P., Falk, E. B., Zurn, P., Bassett, D. S., & Lydon-Staley, D. M. (2022). Daily stressor-related negative mood and its associations with flourishing and daily curiosity. Journal of Happiness Studies, 23(2), 423–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00404-2
Endler, N. S., & Parker, J. D. (1994). Assessment of multidimensional coping: Task, emotion, and avoidance strategies. Psychological Assessment, 6(1), 50.
Gruszczyńska, E. (2013). State affect and emotion-focused coping: Examining correlated change and causality. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 26(1), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2011.633601
Hamama-Raz, Y., Nissanholtz Gannot, R., Michaelis, M., Beloosesky, Y., & Nissanholtz, A. (2022). Informal caregivers’ negative affect: The interplay of caregivers’ resilience, aging anxiety and burden. Aging & Mental Health, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2116406
Hartsell, E. N., & Neupert, S. D. (2019). Chronic and daily stressors along with negative affect interact to predict daily tiredness. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 38(12), 1728–1745. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464817741684
Hetland, J., Bakker, A. B., Espevik, R., & Olsen, O. K. (2022). Daily work pressure and task performance: The moderating role of recovery and sleep. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 857318. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.857318
Hisler, G. C., Krizan, Z., & DeHart, T. (2019). Does stress explain the effect of sleep on self-control difficulties? A month-long daily diary study. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(6), 864–877. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218798823
Howell, R. T., & Rodzon, K. S. (2011). An exploration of personality–affect relations in daily life: Determining the support for the affect-level and affect-reactivity views. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 797–801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.06.020
Hu, T., Zhang, D., & Wang, J. (2015). A meta-analysis of the trait resilience and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.039
Huang, L., Yang, T., & Li, Z. (2003). Applicability of the positive and negative affect scale in chinese. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 17(1), 54–56. https://doi.org/10.3321/j.issn:1000-6729.2003.01.018
Hussong, A. M., Midgette, A. J., Thomas, T. E., Coffman, J. L., & Cho, S. (2021). Coping and mental health in early adolescence during covid-19. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 49(9), 1113–1123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00821-0
Johnson, J., O’Connor, D. B., Jones, C., Jackson, C., Hughes, G. J., & Ferguson, E. (2016). Reappraisal buffers the association between stress and negative mood measured over 14 days: Implications for understanding psychological resilience. European Journal of Personality, 30(6), 608–617. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2080
Kalisch, R., Müller, M. B., & Tüscher, O. (2015). A conceptual framework for the neurobiological study of resilience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38, e92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X1400082X
Kalisch, R., Baker, D. G., Basten, U., Boks, M. P., Bonanno, G. A., Brummelman, E., ... & Kleim, B. (2017). The resilience framework as a strategy to combat stress-related disorders. Nature human behaviour, 1 (11), 784–790. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0200-8
Kalisch, R., Köber, G., Binder, H., Ahrens, K. F., Basten, U., Chmitorz, A., Fiebach, C., Goldbach, N., Horstmann4, R., Kampa, M., Kollmann, B., Lieb, K., Plichta, M., Reif, A., Schick, A., Sebastian, A., Wessa, M., Yuen, K. S. L., Tüscher, O., & Engen, H. (2020). A generic solution for the operationalization and measurement of resilience and resilience processes in longitudinal observations: Rationale and basic design of the MARP and LORA studies [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/jg238
Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55(3), 234–247. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199305000-00002
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1(3), 141–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410010304
Leger, K. A., Charles, S. T., & Almeida, D. M. (2018). Let It Go: Lingering negative affect in response to daily stressors is associated with physical health years later. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1283–1290. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618763097
Li, Z., Zha, J., Zhang, P., Shangguan, C., Wang, X., Lu, J., & Zhang, M. (2020). Negative life events and mood states: Emotional resilience as mediator and moderator. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 48(5), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.8843
Lin, L., Schwabe, L., Wang, X., Zhan, L., & Zhang, L. (2023). Neural correlates of conflict adaptation predict daily stress reactivity. Psychophysiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14279
Maas, C. J. M., & Hox, J. J. (2005). Sufficient sample sizes for multilevel modeling. Methodology: European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1(3), 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241.1.3.86
Masten, A. S., Lucke, C. M., Nelson, K. M., & Stallworthy, I. C. (2021). Resilience in development and psychopathology: Multisystem perspectives. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 17(1), 521–549. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081219-120307
Ong, A. D., & Leger, K. A. (2022). Advancing the study of resilience to daily stressors. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(6), 1591–1603. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211071092
Richardson, C. M. E. (2017). Emotion regulation in the context of daily stress: Impact on daily affect. Personality and Individual Differences, 112, 150–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.02.058
Schoenmakers, E. C., van Tilburg, T. G., & Fokkema, T. (2015). Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping options and loneliness: How are they related? European Journal of Ageing, 12(2), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-015-0336-1
Shigeto, A., Laxman, D. J., Landy, J. F., & Scheier, L. M. (2021). Typologies of coping in young adults in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of General Psychology, 148(3), 272–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2021.1874864
Smith, M. M., Saklofske, D. H., Keefer, K. V., & Tremblay, P. F. (2016). Coping strategies and psychological outcomes: The moderating effects of personal resiliency. The Journal of Psychology, 150(3), 318–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2015.1036828
Smout, M. F., Simpson, S. G., Stacey, F., & Reid, C. (2022). The influence of maladaptive coping modes, resilience, and job demands on emotional exhaustion in psychologists. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 29(1), 260–273. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2631
Tung, N. Y. C., Yap, Y., Bei, B., Luecken, L. J., & Wiley, J. F. (2022). Resilience to early family risk moderates stress-affect associations: A 14-day ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 311, 134–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.075
Turgut, S., Michel, A., & Sonntag, K. (2017). Coping with daily hindrance and challenge stressors in the workplace. Zeitschrift Für Arbeits- Und Organisationspsychologie, 61(3), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1026/0932-4089/a000244
Veer, I. M., Riepenhausen, A., Zerban, M., Wackerhagen, C., Puhlmann, L. M. C., Engen, H., Köber, G., Bögemann, S. A., Weermeijer, J., Uściłko, A., Mor, N., Marciniak, M. A., Askelund, A. D., Al-Kamel, A., Ayash, S., Barsuola, G., Bartkute-Norkuniene, V., Battaglia, S., Bobko, Y., … Kalisch, R. (2021). Psycho-social factors associated with mental resilience in the Corona lockdown. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-01150-4
Wang, Z., Chen, J., Boyd, J. E., Zhang, H., Jia, X., Qiu, J., & Xiao, Z. (2011). Psychometric properties of the chinese version of the perceived stress scale in policewomen. PLoS ONE, 6(12), e28610. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028610
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063
Wemm, S. E., Tennen, H., Sinha, R., & Seo, D. (2022). Daily stress predicts later drinking initiation via craving in heavier social drinkers: A prospective in-field daily diary study. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 131(7), 780–792. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000771
Yıldırım, M., & Green, Z. A. (2023). Social support and resilience mediate the relationship of stress with satisfaction with life and flourishing of youth. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2023.2172551
Zou, G., Li, Y., Xu, R., & Li, P. (2018). Resilience and positive affect contribute to lower cancer-related fatigue among Chinese patients with gastric cancer. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(7–8), e1412–e1418. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14245
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 31900787]; Tianjin Research Innovation Project for Postgraduate Students [grant number 2022SKY281].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Author L.W. collected and analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. Author S.X. designed the study and revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Lu, W., Shi, X. Outcome-oriented resilience moderates the relationship between emotion-focused coping style and negative affect: evidence from a daily diary approach. Curr Psychol 43, 15262–15271 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05489-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05489-x