Abstract
Adolescents are a high-risk group for depression, yet the relationship between negative body image and depression, along with its underlying mechanisms, remains largely unexplored in Chinese adolescents. The present study examined the link between negative body image and depression among Chinese adolescents, and explored the mediating role of self-acceptance and the moderating role of resilience in this association. A total of 352 adolescents completed a survey regarding negative body image, self-acceptance, depression and resilience. Results revealed that negative body image could positively predict depression, and self-acceptance partially mediated the association between negative body image and depression. Moreover, resilience emerged as a significant moderator and could moderate the relationship between self-acceptance and depression. This study revealed the important role of self-acceptance in understanding the mechanisms underlying the association between negative body image and depression, as well as the protective value of resilience, which could inspire interventions to reduce the negative impact of negative body image on depression among Chinese adolescents.
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Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
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This research was supported by PRC National Social Science Foundation (23BSH131) and Foundation of Asia Research Center in Nankai University (AS2311).
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Ying Zhao: investigation, data analysis, writing original draft. Kuo Zhang: conceptualization, supervision, review and editing. Xiang Zhou: review and editing. Meng Xu: conceptualization.
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Zhao, Y., Zhang, K., Zhou, X. et al. The effects of negative body image, self-acceptance, and resilience on depression in Chinese adolescents: testing a moderated mediation model. Curr Psychol 43, 11704–11713 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05288-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05288-4