Resilience in the Face of Adversity: The Role of Impermanence in Mitigating the Effects of Childhood Emotional Abuse and Everyday Stress on Depressive Symptoms

This study aimed to examine whether impermanence awareness and impermanence acceptance would moderate the effects of childhood emotional abuse and everyday stress on depressive symptoms. A total of 236 Chinese college students (73.3% female; age: M = 20.03, SD = 2.42) participated in this cross-sectional study in March, 2023. These participants completed a battery of measures for childhood emotional abuse, everyday stress, impermanence awareness, impermanence acceptance, and depressive symptoms. Both childhood emotional abuse and everyday stress were positively associated with depressive symptoms. The statistical significance of impermanence acceptance as a moderator was observed in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and depressive symptoms. However, no significant moderating role was found in the relationship between everyday stress and depressive symptoms. In addition, impermanence awareness did not have moderating effect on the associations between childhood emotional abuse and everyday stress with depressive symptoms. Impermanence acceptance may help alleviate the negative effects of childhood emotional abuse on depressive symptoms for college students.