Perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and adolescents' depression symptoms: The moderating role of character strengths

The outbreak of COVID-19 could increase adolescents' psychological distress and have a detrimental effect on their mental health. However, the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents' mental health might be moderated by their existing psychological resources. The present study sought to investigate whether the relationship between adolescents' perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and their depression symptoms was alleviated by their character strengths. A total of 617 adolescents were recruited and completed the online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicated that adolescents' perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly positively correlated with their depression symptoms. Character strengths were significantly negatively correlated with adolescents' perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and their depression symptoms. Moreover, the moderating effect of character strengths on the relationship between adolescents' perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and their depression symptoms was significant. Therefore, adolescents' character strengths as a protective factor could buffer the effect of perceived stress of the COVID-19 pandemic on their depression symptoms and contribute to maintaining their mental health.