The Mediated Moderation of Conscientiousness and Active Involution on Zhongyong Practical Thinking and Depression

This study integrates traditional Chinese culture, precisely the philosophy of Zhongyong () thinking, with the prevention and treatment of depression.

It involved a study with 700 undergraduate students from a college in Guangzhou, using the Negative Zhongyong Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory for assessments.

The findings demonstrated that negative Zhongyong thinking predicts depression inversely. Additionally, conscientiousness indirectly and positively influences this relationship through active involution, thereby enhancing its overall effect. The analysis used the 2-mediated moderation (2meMO) model, which effectively handles error heterogeneous variances and provides a detailed assessment of the interactions between these variables. The specific findings are as follows: (1) There are correlations among negative Zhongyong thinking, depression, conscientiousness, and active involution; (2) Conscientiousness can directly and positively regulate the association between negative Zhongyong thinking and depression, and it can also indirectly regulate this relationship through active involution; (3) The higher the conscientiousness, the more actively individuals engage in active involution, thereby strengthening the negative predictive effect of negative Zhongyong thinking on depression.

These research findings contribute to the enrichment of theoretical research on the prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms and offer a fresh perspective on the utilization of traditional Chinese culture in depression prevention and treatment.