{
  "abstract": "The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions were associated with substantial mental health burdens among adolescents, including PTSD symptoms. Meaning in life may explain the association between fear of COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms, and this association may differ by gender. This study examined the association between fear of COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms among Chinese adolescents, tested the distinct indirect effects of Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and evaluated whether gender moderated the second-stage paths from both meaning dimensions to PTSD. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,291 middle school students recruited through convenience sampling. Participants completed the FCV-19S, PCL-C, MLQ, and a demographic survey. The sample included 656 females (50.8%) and 635 males (49.2%), aged 11-18 years (M = 14.13, SD = 1.35). Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS macro version 4.1; age was included as a covariate in every mediation and moderated mediation equation. Fear of COVID-19 was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). After controlling for age, the indirect effect was significant through Presence of Meaning (B = 0.059, 95% CI [0.031, 0.089]) but not Search for Meaning (B = 0.005, 95% CI [-0.001, 0.015]); this pattern held in the parallel model (Presence: B = 0.060, 95% CI [0.032, 0.092]; Search: B = -0.002, 95% CI [-0.009, 0.004]). Gender moderated the second-stage Presence-PTSD path (B = -0.159, p = 0.044; stronger among females) and the Search-PTSD path (B = -0.231, p = 0.016; negative among females but not males). For Presence of Meaning, conditional indirect effects were significant for both males and females, whereas the index of moderated mediation was not significant (index = 0.012, 95% CI [-0.002, 0.034]); for Search for Meaning, conditional indirect effects were not significant. In age-adjusted models, Presence of Meaning, but not Search for Meaning, showed a significant indirect association. Gender moderated the second-stage paths from both dimensions to PTSD, but the overall indirect effects did not differ by gender. These findings support distinguishing having meaning from seeking meaning; longitudinal research is needed to test causal or intervention implications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.",
    "Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease Prevention and Treatment of Guizhou Province, Guiyang, China.",
    "School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.",
    "Shizhen College of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wen Lv"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuguang Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zeling Long"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Shienyu Fei"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Juan Song"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wei Chen"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53cyk7c6yzsar.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1912062",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13739693",
  "id": "53cyk7c6yzsar",
  "issns": [
    "1664-1078"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996322",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|COVID-19 and Mental Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223376724",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13739693?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13739693",
  "pmid": "42996322",
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53cyk7c6yzsar.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T15:20:34Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42996322",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996322"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:3203|COVID-19 and Mental Health",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fear of COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms in adolescents: the mediating role of meaning in life and the moderating role of gender.",
  "title_text": "Fear of COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms in adolescents: the mediating role of meaning in life and the moderating role of gender.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T15:20:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/53cyk7c6yzsar",
  "venue": "Frontiers in psychology",
  "versions": []
}