The Impact of Mental Toughness on Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese College Students in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Chunyue Zhu¹Lin Peng^2*Shuo Li³

• ¹School of Marxism, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou, China
• ²School of Economics and Management, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, China
• ³School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, China

Abstract：The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted mental health worldwide, particularly within campus environments, where it has heightened issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress. Despite the increasing recognition of these challenges, the role of psychological resilience—defined as personal and external support resources that aid in coping—remains underexplored in relation to mental health outcomes. To address this gap, the present study investigates the relationships between subjective well-being, psychological resilience, and mental health symptoms, measured using the DASS-21 (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale), three years after the pandemic’s onset. In a cross-sectional survey of Chinese college students (N = 291), we utilized the DASS-21 and the Psychological Resilience Scale, along with multivariate linear regression modeling, to examine these relationships. The results indicated that both personal resilience factors and external support had significant effects on students' subjective well-being. Specifically, emotional regulation, interpersonal support, and family backing had direct positive effects on well-being and indirectly enhanced happiness by reducing anxiety. Notably, goal orientation influenced well-being indirectly by moderating anxiety. Moreover, positive cognitive patterns exhibited a multifaceted impact on subjective well-being, affecting it through both direct and indirect pathways, particularly by reducing anxiety and depression. While anxiety played a central mediating role in these pathways, stress was also found to be a significant predictor of subjective well-being. These findings emphasize the critical importance of psychological resilience and underscore the multidimensional role of the DASS-21 in assessing university students' mental health. The study offers a theoretical foundation for the development of sustainable mental health interventions tailored to the needs of students in the aftermath of global crises.