Personal growth initiative and depression: the mediating role of need for cognition and affect

Personal growth initiative has been regarded as a protective factor for depression, but until now, the mediating mechanism is not precise. The present study investigated the role of need for cognition (NFC) and need for affect (NFA) (i.e., approach and avoidance) in the relationship between personal growth initiative and depression. We investigated 1652 senior school students (aged 14 to 18) to construct structural equation models. We uncovered two key findings. First of all, the NFA approach and the need for cognition mediated the effect of personal growth initiative on depression independently. More importantly, personal growth initiative influenced depression through the chain mediating effect of "NFA approach-NFC" and "NFC-NFA approach". These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the links between these factors and suggest that high personal growth initiative may reduce depression from the need perspective.