The Chinese Thinking Style and Mental Health: The Role of Mental Resilience and Self-Esteem

Huang Lianqiong; Luo Xi; Hou Yubo

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240224

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2) : 458-466. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240224

Research on Social Psychological Service in the New Era

The Chinese Thinking Style and Mental Health: The Role of Mental Resilience and Self-Esteem

Huang Lianqiong, Luo Xi, Hou Yubo

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Abstract

Extensive empirical studies have revealed the significant impact of mental health on individual psychosocial adaptation. However, with the acceleration of the pace of life and the intensification of competition, Chinese people are confronted with a sharp increase in the pressure from different aspects, followed by mental health problems that are increasingly prominent. According to the Blue Book of Mental Health: Report on National Mental Health Development in China (2019~2020), Chinese people scored significantly lower in emotional experience, self-knowledge, interpersonal communication, and adaptability in 2020 than in 2008. Therefore, it has become an urgent obligation for psychological researchers to deeply explore the factors affecting mental health and to put forward suggestions to meet people's needs for mental health services. Previous studies have pointed out that culture is an organic factor that constitutes mental health problems, and it is necessary to make efforts from the perspective of Chinese culture in order to solve Chinese mental health problems effectively. In view of this, the present study surmises that the Chinese thinking style, which reflects the characteristics of national culture, may be an important factor affecting mental health.
The purpose of this study was to examine how the Chinese thinking style, which is influenced by eastern culture, affects individuals’ mental health, as well as the role of mental resilience and self-esteem. In the present study, participants were recruited to participate in the online questionnaire survey through the online platform Questionnaire Star. The data were collected in two waves. Participants completed the Chinese Holistic Thinking Style Scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the demographic questions at time 1. After an interval of one week (time 2), they completed the Mental Resilience Scale and the General Health Questionnaire. Totally 630 valid questionnaires were collected.
The results indicated that (1) the connectedness dimension of Chinese thinking style significantly positively predicted mental health, while the contradiction dimension significantly negatively predicted mental health. (2) Mental resilience partially mediated the relationship between the Chinese thinking style and mental health. (3) Self-esteem not only played a significant moderating role in the relationship between the Chinese thinking style and mental health, but also moderated the relationship between thinking style and mental resilience, as well as between mental resilience and mental health. That is, self-esteem played a core role in the present model.
These findings not only revealed the significance of Chinese thinking style in affecting the level of mental health but also showed the underlying mechanism of Chinese thinking style on mental health, especially the core role of self-esteem in the model. The results of this study enlighten us that enhancing mental resilience by training and strengthening people's holistic thinking style will contribute to improving their mental health status. Future researchers should further explore the positive influence of thinking style training on mental health. In addition, self-esteem exerts great influence upon Chinese psychosocial adaptation and behaviors, thus it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the cultivation of Chinese people’s self-esteem in the future.

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Chinese thinking style / mental health / mental resilience / self-esteem

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Huang Lianqiong, Luo Xi, Hou Yubo. The Chinese Thinking Style and Mental Health: The Role of Mental Resilience and Self-Esteem[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(2): 458-466 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240224

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