Emotional distress in the Chinese academic context: an integrative mixed-methods study of gratitude, savoring, and...

Chinese university students face escalating mental health challenges, yet the psychological mechanisms that protect against emotional distress remain inadequately understood. This study investigates whether cognitive reappraisal mediates the relationship between positive psychological resources (gratitude and savoring beliefs) and emotional distress in this population.

A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed with 497 Chinese university students (49.9% female, mean age 20.3 years) recruited from three large public universities in Eastern China. Quantitative data were collected using the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6), Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) reappraisal subscale, and Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-10 (HSCL-10). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping tested the mediation model. Semi-structured interviews (n = 20) were analyzed using thematic analysis to explore phenomenological experiences.

The SEM demonstrated robust fit (χ²/df = 1.80, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.041), revealing that gratitude and savoring significantly reduced emotional distress through partial mediation by cognitive reappraisal (indirect effects = -0.18 and -0.15, respectively), explaining 41% of the variance in emotional distress. Qualitative analysis identified three core themes: gratitude as a relational "anchor," savoring as temporal "decentering," and a self-reinforcing "benefit-finding loop."

Findings support the broaden-and-build theory, demonstrating that positive resources facilitate adaptive emotion regulation by providing the cognitive flexibility necessary for effective reappraisal. The integration of quantitative and qualitative data reveals that gratitude and savoring do not merely coexist with stress but actively transform how students process academic adversity. These results underscore the importance of resource-primed regulation protocols in university mental health interventions.