The impact of negative life events on adolescents and young adults affective disorders: a moderated mediation analysis
8 affiliations
- 1School of Computer Science and Technology, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China
- 2Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China
- 3Shantou University Mental Health Center, Taishan North Road, Shantou, 515065 China
- 4Dongguan Seventh People’s Hospital, Dongguan, China
- 5Research Center for Medical Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- 6Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
- 7Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- 8Shantou University Medical College – Faculty of Medicine of University of Manitoba Joint Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Shantou University Mental Health Center, Taishan North Road, Shantou, 515065 China
Abstract
Background: Adolescent negative life events are important risk factors for affective disorders. However, it remains unclear whether visual comprehension mediates the relationship between negative life events and affective disorders. This study proposed that visual comprehension mediates the relationship between negative life events and affective disorders and that higher-level comprehensive control moderates this model. It also compared the dominant positions of the visual and auditory response control.
Methods: Data were collected from 101 adolescent and young adult participants with first-episode depressive disorders attending a health centre outpatient department; of these, 84 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final sample. Negative life event levels was assessed using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC) and affective disorders, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Symptom Checklist-90. Cognitive function was quantified using an integrated continuous visual and auditory performance test. The moderated mediation model comprised ASLEC as the independent variable; affective disorder, dependent; visual comprehension quotient (VCQ), mediator; and full-scale response control quotient (FSRCQ) and auditory response control quotients (ARCQ), moderators.
Results: VCQ mediated the relationship between ASLEC and affective disorders. FSRCQ moderated the overall model and the association between ASLEC and VCQ. ARCQ also moderated this model. Negative life events significantly positively correlated with affective disorders, with higher levels predicting higher severity. Moreover, visual comprehension facilitated this relationship, with an increase in negative life events significantly weakening visual comprehension, thereby exacerbating affective disorders. Individuals with higher comprehensive and auditory response controls showed stronger inhibitory effect of negative life events on visual comprehension.
Conclusions: This study provides preliminary empirical evidence of the relationship between negative life events, cognitive function, and affective disorders. Cognitive function mediates negative life events’ impact on affective disorders in adolescents and young adults. In particular, auditory response control moderates the association between negative life events and visual comprehension.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9.
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BibTeX
@article{ma2026impact,
title = {{The impact of negative life events on adolescents and young adults affective disorders: a moderated mediation analysis}},
author = {Youshan Ma and Fuling Wan and Jinglong Wu and Zhilin Zhang and Lichang Yao and Ting Jiang and Xiujun Li and Qingwen Xiao and Kaiyuan Chen and Qi Dai and Jinling Zhang},
journal = {BMC Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The impact of negative life events on adolescents and young adults affective disorders: a moderated mediation analysis
AU - Youshan Ma
AU - Fuling Wan
AU - Jinglong Wu
AU - Zhilin Zhang
AU - Lichang Yao
AU - Ting Jiang
AU - Xiujun Li
AU - Qingwen Xiao
AU - Kaiyuan Chen
AU - Qi Dai
AU - Jinling Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/29
JO - BMC Psychiatry
DO - 10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9
AB - Background: Adolescent negative life events are important risk factors for affective disorders. However, it remains unclear whether visual comprehension mediates the relationship between negative life events and affective disorders. This study proposed that visual comprehension mediates the relationship between negative life events and affective disorders and that higher-level comprehensive control moderates this model. It also compared the dominant positions of the visual and auditory response control. Methods: Data were collected from 101 adolescent and young adult participants with first-episode depressive disorders attending a health centre outpatient department; of these, 84 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final sample. Negative life event levels was assessed using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC) and affective disorders, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Symptom Checklist-90. Cognitive function was quantified using an integrated continuous visual and auditory performance test. The moderated mediation model comprised ASLEC as the independent variable; affective disorder, dependent; visual comprehension quotient (VCQ), mediator; and full-scale response control quotient (FSRCQ) and auditory response control quotients (ARCQ), moderators. Results: VCQ mediated the relationship between ASLEC and affective disorders. FSRCQ moderated the overall model and the association between ASLEC and VCQ. ARCQ also moderated this model. Negative life events significantly positively correlated with affective disorders, with higher levels predicting higher severity. Moreover, visual comprehension facilitated this relationship, with an increase in negative life events significantly weakening visual comprehension, thereby exacerbating affective disorders. Individuals with higher comprehensive and auditory response controls showed stronger inhibitory effect of negative life events on visual comprehension. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary empirical evidence of the relationship between negative life events, cognitive function, and affective disorders. Cognitive function mediates negative life events’ impact on affective disorders in adolescents and young adults. In particular, auditory response control moderates the association between negative life events and visual comprehension. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08460-9.
SN - 1471-244X
ER -