Longitudinal Relationship Between Emotional Insecurity and Adolescent Mental Health: the Mediation of Rejection Sensitivity and Moderation of Dispositional Mindfulness

Mental health problems among adolescents are increasingly prominent. The negative effects of emotional insecurity on adolescent mental health have garnered empirical support. It is important to understand the psychological processes underlying this relationship. Using a longitudinal design, the present study aimed to reveal the explanatory mechanism of the association between emotional insecurity and mental health problems among Chinese adolescents by testing the mediating effect of rejection sensitivity and the moderating effect of dispositional mindfulness.

The participants were 1156 Chinese adolescents (45.00% male; M_age = 15.96) who completed self-report questionnaires regarding emotional insecurity, rejection sensitivity, mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress), and dispositional mindfulness at three time points during the course of half a year (3-month interval).

The results showed that retrospective reports of emotional insecurity in wave 1 were positively associated with adolescent depression, anxiety, and stress in wave 3 and that rejection sensitivity in wave 2 partly mediated this association. Furthermore, dispositional mindfulness in wave 3 moderated the pathway from rejection sensitivity to later adolescent depression, anxiety, and stress in the mediated model. Specifically, the effect of high rejection sensitivity on mental health problems was weaker in adolescents who reported high dispositional mindfulness.

Identifying the mechanisms by which emotional insecurity is associated with adolescent mental health problems over time has potential value for prevention and intervention.