Contributions of Resilience to Mental Health in Chinese Secondary School Students at Different Disaster Stress Levels

A key feature of positive education is its focus on factors that can help students flourish. In the current study, we examined the role of resilience in promoting optimal mental health of Chinese secondary school students who suffered the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, China. In the earthquake central region, 518 participants recruited in November 2008 about 6 months and 473 participants recruited 1 year after the earthquake, were assumed to have the highest and mid-level disaster stress levels, respectively. 602 participants from areas unaffected by the earthquake in December 2008 were assumed to have the lowest stress level. Participants' mental health and resilience were assessed by the clinical scales of the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory for Adolescents and the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents, respectively. Higher stress level participants reported significantly lower resilience and higher mental health problems. Negative correlations between resilience and mental health problems were confirmed across the three groups. Only supportive power resilience showed significant predictions on mental health problems in the two earthquake groups. The implications on mental health counseling and positive education in Chinese secondary school students were discussed.