Mediation role of coping styles on negative life events and subthreshold depression in medical students

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship with life events and coping styles, and to explore the intermediary effect of coping styles between negative life events and subthreshold depression. A questionnaire survey of 721 students from a medical university in Anhui Province, China was conducted using a questionnaire on the characteristic coping styles, a scale of youth life events, and a scale of subthreshold depression for university students. Chi-square test and t-test were used to analyze the effects of general demography characteristics on life events, subthreshold depression, and the coping style of university students. The Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effect of coping styles between negative life events and subthreshold depression. Life events were correlated with subthreshold depression (r = 0.425, P < 0.01), positive coping styles (r = -0.128, P < 0.01) and negative coping styles (r = 0.281, P < 0.01). Subthreshold depression was correlated with positive coping styles (r = -0.327, P < 0.01) and negative coping styles (r = 0.448, P < 0.01). The results of the mediation effect test showed that the mediation effect of positive coping style and negative coping style between life events and subthreshold depression accounted for 10.51% and 27.84% of the total effect values, respectively. Coping styles play a role in mediating between negative life events and subthreshold depression in university students. Education departments should guide students to actively cope with negative life events.